SKIP TO CONTENT

abstraction

Definitions of abstraction
  1. noun
    a general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples
    see moresee less
    examples:
    déchéance
    the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve
    litanie
    a prayer consisting of a series of invocations by the priest with responses from the congregation
    concorde
    the first battle of the American Revolution (April 19, 1775)
    guerre mondiale
    a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918
    guerre mondiale
    a war between the Allies (Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, USSR, Yugoslavia) and the Axis (Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Rumania, Slovakia, Thailand) from 1939 to 1945
    mort
    the personification of death
    diable
    evil Egyptian god with the head of a beast that has high square ears and a long snout; brother and murderer of Osiris
    lilliputien
    a 6-inch tall inhabitant of Lilliput in a novel by Jonathan Swift
    types:
    chose du psychisme
    a feature of the mental life of a living organism
    attribut
    an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
    groupe, groupement
    any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
    rapport, relation
    an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
    communication
    something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups
    dimension, mesure, quantité, taille
    how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantify
    ensemble
    (mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols
    connaissance, savoir
    the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
    besoin, motif, motivation
    the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
    état
    the way something is with respect to its main attributes
    forme
    the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance
    temps
    the continuum of experience in which events pass from the future through the present to the past
    événement
    something that happens at a given place and time
    possession, propriété
    anything owned or possessed
    relation sociale
    a relation between living organisms (especially between people)
    genre humain, humanité, race humaine
    all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
    caractéristique, trait de caractère
    a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
    chose
    any attribute or quality considered as having its own existence
    personnalité
    the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
    bonne humeur, gaieté
    the quality of being cheerful and dispelling gloom
    mauvaise humeur, morosité
    not conducive to cheer or good spirits
    éthos
    (anthropology) the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
    caractéristique, propriété
    an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
    possession, propriété
    a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class
    bien héréditaire, héritage, legs, patrimoine
    any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors
    emplacement, localisation, position, relation spatiale
    the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated
    chance
    a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible
    intervalle
    a set containing all points (or all real numbers) between two given endpoints
    groupe
    a set that is closed, associative, has an identity element and every element has an inverse
    message
    a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
    langage, langue
    a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
    langue écrite
    communication by means of written symbols (either printed or handwritten)
    contenu, sujet
    what a communication that is about something is about
    signal, signe
    any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
    enseigne, panneau
    a public display of a message
    indication
    something that serves to indicate or suggest
    communication visuelle
    communication that relies on vision
    étalage
    exhibiting openly in public view
    style
    a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period
    communication auditive
    communication that relies on hearing
    voix
    the sound made by the vibration of vocal folds modified by the resonance of the vocal tract
    communication psychique
    communication by paranormal means
    arrangement, mise en ordre
    an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging
    groupe biologique
    a group of plants or animals
    gens, peuple
    (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
    groupe social
    people sharing some social relation
    accumulation, amoncellement
    several things grouped together or considered as a whole
    édition
    all of the identical copies of something offered to the public at the same time
    race
    people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock
    sous-ensemble
    a set whose members are members of another set; a set contained within another set
    espace, intervalle
    (mathematics) any set of points that satisfy a set of postulates of some kind
    ensemble
    (mathematics) a set of elements such that addition and multiplication are commutative and associative and multiplication is distributive over addition and there are two elements 0 and 1
    solution
    the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
    citoyen, peuple
    the body of citizens of a state or country
    population
    a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting a given area
    foule, gens, masse
    the common people generally
    circuit
    (law) a judicial division of a state or the United States (so-called because originally judges traveled and held court in different locations); one of the twelve groups of states in the United States that is covered by a particular circuit court of appeals
    système
    a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole
    propriété
    the relation of an owner to the thing possessed; possession with the right to transfer possession to others
    justificatif
    a written account of ownership or obligation
    valeur
    the amount (of money or goods or services) that is considered to be a fair equivalent for something else
    quantité défini
    a specific measure of amount
    quantité indéfinie
    an estimated quantity
    quantité relative
    a quantity relative to some purpose
    système de mesure
    a system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristic
    volume
    the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
    teneur en alcool
    a measure of alcoholic strength expressed as an integer twice the percentage of alcohol present (by volume)
    causalité
    the relation between causes and effects
    rapport, relation
    a relation between people; (`relationship' is often used where `relation' would serve, as in `the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of `relationship' is for human relations or states of relatedness)
    relation logique
    a relation between propositions
    relation mathématique
    a relation between mathematical expressions (such as equality or inequality)
    fondations
    the basis on which something is grounded
    connexion, lien, rapport, relation
    a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it)
    relation linguistique
    a relation between linguistic forms or constituents
    partie
    something determined in relation to something that includes it
    parenté
    a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character
    liens de parenté, parenté
    (anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption
    ordre de grandeur
    a relation between magnitudes
    commande, contrainte, contrôle, maîtrise
    a relation of constraint of one entity (thing or person or group) by another
    relations professionnelles
    a relation between different business enterprises
    réciprocité
    a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence
    relation temporelle
    a relation involving time
    opposition
    the relation between opposed entities
    changement
    a relational difference between states; especially between states before and after some event
    intersection
    a point or set of points common to two or more geometric configurations
    halogène
    any of five related nonmetallic elements (fluorine or chlorine or bromine or iodine or astatine) that are all monovalent and readily form negative ions
    unité de temps
    a unit for measuring time periods
    moment
    an instant of time
    jeu, période de jeu
    (in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds
    espace de temps, intervalle
    a definite length of time marked off by two instants
    type of:
    entité
    that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving)
  2. noun
    a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
    see moresee less
    types:
    droit
    an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
    maître
    a personified abstraction that teaches
    chose
    a special abstraction
    accès
    the right to enter
    droits de l'homme
    (law) any basic right or freedom to which all human beings are entitled and in whose exercise a government may not interfere (including rights to life and liberty as well as freedom of thought and expression and equality before the law)
    droit
    a right based in law
    privilège
    a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right)
    immunité
    (law) the right to refuse to divulge information obtained in a confidential relationship
    type of:
    concept, notion
    an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
  3. noun
    the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances
    synonyms: induction
    see moresee less
    type of:
    conjecture, spéculation
    the production or use of theories
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘abstraction'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family