Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

abstract

Cross references:
  1. abridgment            
 
1. ab.stract \ab-'strakt, 'ab-.\ \ab-'strak-(t)le-, 'ab-.\ 
   \ab-'strak(t)-n*s, 'ab-.\ aj [ML abstractus, fr. L, pp. of abstrahere to 
   draw away, fr. abs-)X, ab- + trahere to draw - more at DRAW 1a: 
   disassociated from any specific instance {~ entity}  1b: difficult to 
   understand : ABSTRUSE {~ problems}  1c: IDEAL {~ justice}  1d: 
   insufficiently factual : FORMAL {possessed only an ~ r ight} 2: expressing 
   a quality apart from an object {honesty, whitenes s, triangularity are ~ 
   words} 3a: dealing with a subject in its abstract aspects : THEORETICAL  
   3b: IMPERSONAL, DETACHED  4: having only intrinsic form with little or no 
   attempt at pictorial repre sentation {~ painting} - ab.stract.ly av
2. ab.stract \'ab-.strakt, in sense 2 also ab-'\ n [ME, fr. L abstractus] 
   1: SUMMARY, EPITOME  2: an abstract thing or state  3: ABSTRACTION 
3. ab.stract or ab.stract.er \ab-'strakt, 'ab-., in sense 3 usu 'ab-.\ vt 
   1: REMOVE, SEPARATE  2: to consider apart from application to a particular 
   instance  3: to make an abstract of : SUMMARIZE  4: to draw away the 
   attention of  5: STEAL, PURLOIN  - ab.stract.or n