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Showing results for abstraction. Search instead for abstraktionsschicht.
Definitions

abstraction

[ab-strak-shuhn] / æbˈstræk ʃən /
NOUN
state of being lost in thought
Synonyms
STRONG
absorption aloofness brooding cogitation consideration contemplation daydreaming detachment engrossment entrancement musing pensiveness preoccupation reflection remoteness reverie thinking trance
WEAK
pondering reflecting ruminating
Antonyms
STRONG
disdain disregard ignorance neglect

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A Defra spokesperson said £2bn of water company investment had been secured over five years to restore chalk streams as well as upgrading the abstraction licensing system.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

If that sounds like a 1997 frat party elevated to political abstraction, fair enough.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026

While the choice of map method sounds like a mathematical abstraction, it literally shapes the way billions of people see our world.

From Slate • Jan. 21, 2026

They combine animals and figures; architecture, ladders and wagons; abstraction and representation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

Ignorant, in the Handdara sense: to ignore the abstraction, to hold fast to the thing.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.