abstraction

Language: en

🇺🇸 /æˈbstrækʃən/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The act or process of abstracting; the act of separating or removing something from something else.; A general concept or idea formed by extracting common features from specific examples; a generalization.; A state of being lost in thought; absent-mindedness or preoccupation.; In art, a work that does not attempt to represent external reality but instead uses shapes, colors, and forms to achieve its effect.; In computer science, a concept or construct that hides complex implementation details and presents a simplified interface or model.; The act of stealing or taking something without permission; theft (archaic or formal usage).; In chemistry, the removal of an atom or group of atoms from a molecule, especially a hydrogen atom.; The quality of being abstract; lack of concreteness or specificity.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable / uncountable Plural: abstractions

Collocations

level of abstractionpure abstractionabstraction from realityhigh-level abstractionpower of abstraction

Derivatives

abstractabstractlyabstractnessabstractionismabstractionistabstracted

Synonyms

conceptgeneralizationideanotiontheoryconstruct

Antonyms

concretespecificsreality

Commonly confused

abstract
EN: 'Abstract' is the adjective (an abstract idea) or verb (to abstract information); 'abstraction' is the noun referring to the process or the resulting concept.
generalization
EN: 'Generalization' emphasizes broadening from specific cases; 'abstraction' emphasizes removing concrete details to focus on essential qualities.

Spelling tips

EN: No common spelling issues. Note the '-tion' ending rather than '-sion'.

💬 Examples

  1. The abstraction of water from the river for irrigation purposes required careful planning.

  2. Justice is an abstraction that different cultures interpret in various ways.

  3. She stared out the window in complete abstraction, unaware of the conversation around her.

  4. The gallery featured several bold abstractions by emerging contemporary artists.

  5. Object-oriented programming relies heavily on abstraction to manage software complexity.

  6. The abstraction of company funds by the treasurer was discovered during the annual audit.

  7. Hydrogen abstraction is a key step in many free radical chain reactions.

  8. The abstraction of his philosophical writing made it difficult for general readers to follow.