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Noun: abstraction  ab'strak-shun
  1. A concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
    "he loved her only in the abstraction--not in person";
    - abstract
     
  2. The act of withdrawing or removing something
     
  3. The process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances
    - generalization, generalisation [Brit]
     
  4. An abstract work of art
     
  5. Preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else
    - abstractedness
     
  6. A general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples
    - abstract entity

Derived forms: abstractions

Type of: absorption, concept, conception, construct, engrossment, entity, painting, picture, preoccupancy, preoccupation, remotion, removal, theorisation [Brit], theorization

Encyclopedia: Abstraction