Lexic.us

Definition of Abstraction

1. Noun. A concept or idea not associated with any specific instance. "He loved her only in the abstract--not in person"

2. Noun. The act of withdrawing or removing something.

3. Noun. The process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances.

4. Noun. An abstract painting.

5. Noun. Preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else.

6. Noun. A general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples.

Definition of Abstraction

1. n. The act of abstracting, separating, or withdrawing, or the state of being withdrawn; withdrawal.

Definition of Abstraction

1. Noun. The act of abstracting, separating, or withdrawing, or the state of being withdrawn; withdrawal. ¹

2. Noun. (philosophy) The act of focusing on one characteristic of an object rather than the object as a whole group of characteristics. ¹

3. Noun. The act of comparing commonality between distinct objects and organizing using those similarities. ¹

4. Noun. An idea or notion of an abstract, or theoretical nature; as, ''to fight for mere '''abstractions'''''.(defdate 1644)(reference-book last = Dobbie first = Elliott K. coauthors = Dunmore, C. William, et al. editor = Barnhart, Robert K. title = Chambers Dictionary of Etymology origyear = 1998 year = 2004 publisher = Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd location = Edinburgh, Scotland isbn =0550142304 pages = 5) ¹

5. Noun. A separation from worldly objects; a recluse life; as, ''a hermit's '''abstraction'''''. ¹

6. Noun. Absence or absorption of mind; inattention to present objects. ¹

7. Noun. (context: neologism) The taking surreptitiously for one's own use part of the property of another; purloining. ¹

8. Noun. (context: chemistry) A separation of volatile parts by the act of distillation. - Nicholson ¹

9. Noun. (context: engineering) Removal of water from a river, lake, or aquifer, typically for industrial or agricultural uses. ¹

10. Noun. (context: computing) Any generalization technique that ignores or hides details to capture some kind of commonality between different instances for the purpose of controlling the intellectual complexity of engineered systems, particularly software systems. ¹

11. Noun. (context: computing) Any intellectual construct produced through the technique of abstraction. ¹

12. Noun. (context: art) An abstract creation, or piece of art.(defdate 1915) ¹

13. Noun. (geology) The merging of two river valleys by the larger of the two deepening and widening so much as to assimilate the smaller. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Abstraction

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Abstraction

1. 1. The act of abstracting, separating, or withdrawing, or the state of being withdrawn; withdrawal. "A wrongful abstraction of wealth from certain members of the community." (J. S. Mill) 2. The act process of leaving out of consideration one or more properties of a complex object so as to attend to others; analysis. Thus, when the mind considers the form of a tree by itself, or the colour of the leaves as separate from their size or figure, the act is called abstraction. So, also, when it considers whiteness, softness, virtue, existence, as separate from any particular objects. Abstraction is necessary to classification, by which things are arranged in genera and species. We separate in idea the qualities of certain objects, which are of the same kind, from others which are different, in each, and arrange the objects having the same properties in a class, or collected body. "Abstraction is no positive act: it is simply the negative of attention." (Sir W. Hamilton) 3. An idea or notion of an abstract, or theoretical nature; as, to fight for mere abstractions. 4. A separation from worldly objects; a recluse life; as, a hermit's abstraction. 5. Absence or absorption of mind; inattention to present objects. 6. The taking surreptitiously for one's own use part of the property of another; purloining. 7. A separation of volatile parts by the act of distillation. Origin: Cf. F. Abstraction. See Abstract. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Abstraction

abstractable abstracted abstractedly abstractedness abstracter abstracters abstractest abstracticism abstractification abstractified

abstractifies abstractify abstractifying abstracting abstracting and indexing abstraction (current term) abstractional abstractionism abstractionisms abstractionist

abstractionistic abstractionists abstractions abstractitious abstractive abstractively abstractiveness abstractly abstractness abstractnesses

Literary usage of Abstraction

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Curiosities of Literature by Isaac Disraeli, Benjamin Disraeli (1859)
"ANECDOTES OF abstraction OF MIND. SOME have exercised this power of abstraction to a degree that appears marvellous to volatile spirits, and puny thinkers. ..."

2. A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental by David ( Hume (1890)
"Of the complex idea which results from the work of abstraction, nothing can be said but a small part of what is predicable of the known thing which the ..."

3. A Text-book of psychology by Edward Bradford Titchener (1910)
"144- Generalisation and abstraction of cows, he sees a longish rectangle ending to ... Generalisation and abstraction. — We have spoken of the abstract or ..."

4. Analysis of the phenomena of the human mind by James Mill (1869)
"THE two cases of Consciousness, CLASSIFICATION, and abstraction, have not, generally, been well distinguished. According to the common accounts of ..."

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