Definition of "abstract" in English

noun

1. An abridgement or summary of a longer publication.

2. Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of a larger item, or multiple items.

3. An abstraction; an abstract term; that which is abstract.

4. The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.

5. (art) An abstract work of art.

6. (real estate) A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.

adjective

1. (obsolete) Derived; extracted.

2. (now rare) Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate.

   • The more abstract we are from the body ... the more fit we shall be to behold divine light.

3. Not concrete: conceptual, ideal.

   • Her new film is an abstract piece, combining elements of magic realism, flashbacks, and animation but with very little in terms of plot construction.

4. Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.

   • The politician gave a somewhat abstract answer when asked about their plans to cut spending.

5. Separately expressing a property or attribute of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object: attributive, ascriptive.

6. Pertaining comprehensively to, or representing, a class or group of objects, as opposed to any specific object; considered apart from any application to a particular object: general, generic, nonspecific; representational.

7. (archaic) Absent-minded.

8. (art) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them.

9. (object-oriented programming, of a class) Being a partial basis for subclasses rather than a complete template for objects.

verb

1. (transitive) To separate; to disengage.

2. (transitive) To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize.