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abstract

AB-strakt /ˈæbstrækt/

adjectivenounverbB2IELTSTOEFLGRESAT

academicneutral

Art that does not attempt to represent external reality accurately, using shapes, colors, forms, and gestural marks instead; existing in thought or as an idea rather than having physical existence.

Abstract art ranges from 'slightly abstracted' (stylized real objects) to 'non-objective' (pure geometric or color forms with no real-world counterpart).

The story behind the word. Derived from Latin 'abstrahere', meaning 'to drag away' or 'draw away from'. In philosophy and art, it means pulling away from concrete, touchable objects to isolate pure concepts, essence, form, or visual rhythm.

Word relationships

non-figurative: 'Non-figurative' specifically means devoid of human or object shapes, while 'abstract' can also refer to generalized ideas.
conceptual: 'Conceptual' emphasizes ideas over visual form, whereas 'abstract' focuses heavily on non-representational visual form.

concrete: 'Concrete' refers to real, physical, touchable objects or realistic art.
representational: 'Representational' art directly depicts recognizable real-world objects.

Commonly confused with

abstruse: 'Abstract' means non-figurative or theoretical; 'abstruse' means difficult to understand due to obscurity.

Word family

abstraction (noun): the quality of dealing with ideas rather than events
abstracted (adjective): preoccupied or removed from real detail

Collocations

abstract art
abstract expressionism
purely abstract
abstract concept
abstract thought

Idioms & expressions

in the abstract

Example sentences

"Wassily Kandinsky is widely considered one of the pioneers of pure abstract painting in the early twentieth century." Art History
"Before reading the full paper, the committee reviewed a concise abstract summarizing the study's conclusions." Academic Writing

Memory hook

PULLING AWAY (abs-trahere) from realistic object details. Dragged away from physical reality into pure form.

When not to use

Do not call realistic art 'abstract' simply because it is difficult to understand conceptually.

Fun facts

Hilma af Klint painted radical abstract works as early as 1906, years before male painters claimed to invent abstract art.
A scientific paper summary is called an 'abstract' because it pulls out the core essence of the entire study.