as in notions
something imagined or pictured in the mind
to a people who have lived under one dictatorship after another, democracy and freedom are mere abstractions
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Recent Examples of abstractions
Meis moves from the Baroque virtuosity of Rubens’s study of a drunken mythological figure, through the jagged modernist puzzle of Marc’s allegorical animals, to Mitchell’s painterly abstractions and their flickering landscape allusions.
—
Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
Seidle sketches out miniature worlds on his Casio with the oblong abstractions of a kindergartener doodling on a piece of paper, his primitive songs existing in a kind of nascent pre-genre state.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
People are reduced to abstractions or enemies.
—Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
Twentieth century painter Agnes Pelton created luminous abstractions in nearby Cathedral City, while assemblage artist Noah Purifoy spent the final decade of his life building the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum of Assemblage Art in Joshua Tree.
—Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
Two, the issue of climate change broadly and emissions more specifically are also not just abstractions.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Most of what happens in AI happens behind closed doors in conference rooms, and on server farms, and in the heads of people who think in abstractions most of us can barely comprehend.
—Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
The families in these shelters are not abstractions in a policy debate.
—Ken Toltz, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
This led to basic abstractions like the body and the circle, the body and the square, constructivist garments in which the body becomes a tube, and finally square and circular cutaways in the dresses.
—Theo Belci, Artforum, 27 Feb. 2026
Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
Seidle sketches out miniature worlds on his Casio with the oblong abstractions of a kindergartener doodling on a piece of paper, his primitive songs existing in a kind of nascent pre-genre state.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
People are reduced to abstractions or enemies.
—Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
Twentieth century painter Agnes Pelton created luminous abstractions in nearby Cathedral City, while assemblage artist Noah Purifoy spent the final decade of his life building the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum of Assemblage Art in Joshua Tree.
—Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
Two, the issue of climate change broadly and emissions more specifically are also not just abstractions.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Most of what happens in AI happens behind closed doors in conference rooms, and on server farms, and in the heads of people who think in abstractions most of us can barely comprehend.
—Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
The families in these shelters are not abstractions in a policy debate.
—Ken Toltz, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
This led to basic abstractions like the body and the circle, the body and the square, constructivist garments in which the body becomes a tube, and finally square and circular cutaways in the dresses.
—Theo Belci, Artforum, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstractions
Noun
-
Advice or even just notions—only check email after noon; never do 10 reps of crunches—solidify into absolutism or vanish.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
-
For years, Ye had been obsessed with notions of Jewish villainy, while also identifying himself with Adolf Hitler and Nazis.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Consider enrolling in a class or talking about philosophical ideas with your peers, because such bold curiosity presently translates into mental growth.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
-
If the figures of Rosie the Riveter, Lillian Gilbreth, and Jane Fonda helped to establish ideas of twentieth-century smartness, then PAT, a glitchy computerized mother figure, carries us into the present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The rotating space station demonstrates centrifugal artificial gravity, reflecting concepts studied by real aerospace engineers.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Its rotating space station demonstrates centrifugal artificial gravity, reflecting concepts studied by real aerospace engineers.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Another approach would be someone with experience in tanking, if not exactly rushing out to locate Sam Hinkie, just someone with definitive thoughts, and perhaps previous success, with the approach.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Reading and interacting with students’ original thoughts in class helps teachers understand how students think and articulate.—
Asuka Koda,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In reaction against the waste of life and ill-success of Mazzini’s program, moderate opinion tended to crystallize around federal conceptions of the solution of the Italian problem.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Second, however, at the chasm between the Framers’ conceptions of Presidential war power and the unbounded nature of that authority today.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Two television cameras looking down from an altitude of about 450 miles made initial pictures of earthly cloud patterns on the satellite’s second orbitable trip.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
2 Apr. 2026
-
After walking into her personal office to find Gordon redecorating the room with pictures of herself, Gomez sits down to review her assistant's to-do list for the day.—
Chanel Vargas,
InStyle,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
They’re paid based on the CPM, which refers to the cost per 1,000 impressions.—
Fortesa Latifi,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2026
-
As first impressions go, this was the equivalent of forgetting a date’s name, checking the phone while ordering, and deciding to talk religion and politics over dessert.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abstractions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstractions. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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