abstraction.

1. The formation or use of a general concept by omitting particular details.

2. An abstract idea or representation formed apart from particular instances.

3. An absorbed state in which attention is withdrawn from immediate surroundings.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• conceptual abstraction
• level of abstraction

On the page

Conceptual abstraction allowed the cases to be compared on a common basis.

The chosen level of abstraction concealed a relevant difference.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable; singular abstraction and plural abstractions for abstract ideas or representations. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: institutional and conceptual change, philosophical orientation, qualification of recurrence and degree. Disciplines: academic writing, philosophy, cross-disciplinary analysis. Commonness: moderately common.