abstraction
noun/æbˈstrækʃn/
/æbˈstrækʃn/
- [countable, uncountable] (formal) a general idea not based on any particular real person, thing or situation; the quality of being abstract
- Ideological abstractions are never going to attract many voters.
- The increasing abstraction of modern art has tended to make it increasingly difficult to interpret.
- The idea of ‘the nation’ can be seen as an abstraction.
- [uncountable] (formal) the state of thinking deeply about something and not paying attention to what is around you
- She was gazing in abstraction at the far corner of the room.
- [uncountable, countable] the action of removing something from something else; the process of being removed from something else
- water abstraction from rivers
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin abstractio(n-), from the verb abstrahere ‘draw away’ from ab- ‘from’ + trahere ‘draw off’.
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abstraction