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   abstraction

   /əbˈstrakʃn/

   noun

   • 1. the quality of dealing with ideas rather than events: "topics will vary in degrees of abstraction"
   • ▪ something which exists only as an idea: "the question can no longer be treated as an academic abstraction" Similar conceptideanotionthoughtgeneralitygeneralizationtheorytheoremformulahypothesisspeculationconjecturesuppositionpresumptionOpposite factmaterial consideration
   • 2. freedom from representational qualities in art: "geometric abstraction has been a mainstay in her work"
   • ▪ an abstract work of art: "critics sought the meaning of O'Keeffe's abstractions"
   • 3. a state of preoccupation: "she sensed his momentary abstraction" Similar absent-mindednessdistractionpreoccupationdaydreamingdreaminessinattentivenessinattentionwool-gatheringabsenceheedlessnessobliviousnessthoughtfulnesspensivenessmusingbroodingabsorptionengrossmentraptnessOpposite attention
   • 4. the process of considering something independently of its associations or attributes: "the question cannot be considered in abstraction from the historical context in which it was raised"
   • 5. the process of removing something, especially water from a river or other source: "the abstraction of water from springs and wells" Similar extractionremovalseparationdetachment

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin abstractio(n-), from the verb abstrahere ‘draw away’ (see abstract).

   Scrabble Points: 15

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