From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishabstractab‧stract1 /ˈæbstrækt/ ●●○ AWL adjective 1 REAL/NOT IMAGINARYbased on general ideas or principles rather than specific examples or real events SYN theoreticalabstract idea/concept etc the ability to translate abstract ideas into words By the age of seven, children are capable of thinking in abstract terms. Human beings are the only creatures capable of abstract thought (=thinking about ideas).2 REAL/NOT IMAGINARYexisting only as an idea or quality rather than as something real that you can see or touch OPP concrete the abstract nature of beauty3 
AVabstract paintings, designs etc consist of shapes and patterns that do not look like real people or things → abstract noun
AVabstract paintings, designs etc consist of shapes and patterns that do not look like real people or things → abstract nounExamples from the Corpus
abstract• They begin by challenging the current opinion that all peoples share basic functions of the mind such as logical and abstract abilities.• A lot of people don't like abstract art.• It's an abstract design that's supposed to represent freedom and strength.• The abstract graffiti of Aaron Siskind was done first by Weston.• Gorbachev took the abstract idea of reform and made it a reality.• You have already been allowed to enter an abstract model of Pool.• Nature is the setting but abstract nature; feeling, not representation.• a new exhibition of abstract paintings• The photographs put a human face on an abstract political event.• In this book, therefore, attention is concentrated on relations of the more abstract sort.• But vibrant is such an abstract term that it can not be used to describe what to look for in a dough.• To be understood, avoid abstract terms.• By the age of about seven, children are capable of abstract thought.• By about 1930 she had ceased painting, though for several more years she made small, colourful, increasingly abstract water-colours.abstract idea/concept etc• In the Introduction to the Principles, Berkeley spends a considerable time arguing against the doctrine of abstract ideas.• The Bible is no academic tome with an esoteric appeal to those with scholarly minds who can handle abstract concepts.• We frequently telephone asking him to illustrate some obscure or abstract concept.• Words are only essential to put across more abstract concepts and intellectual ideas.• As we shall see, there are problems inherent in trying to give shape to such an abstract concept as political culture.• Are they planned in terms of transforming abstract ideas or theories into useful learning experiences?• As she gets older; she may have difficulty comprehending abstract concepts that are communicated through what she hears.• Political culture is a vague abstract concept that has been subject to various definitions.abstractabstract2 ●○○ AWL noun [countable] 1 AVPa painting, design etc which contains shapes or images that do not look like real things or people2 TCNa short written statement containing only the most important ideas in a speech, article etc3 → in the abstractExamples from the Corpus
abstract• A call for papers has been issued and abstracts should be submitted as soon as possible.• A call for papers has been issued and the deadline for abstracts is 4 May 1992.• He came and stood beside me and picked out one of the new abstracts I'd done at home.• But religion does not reside in theological abstracts.• Even with abstracts, the theme was, more often than not a Biblical one.abstractab‧stract3 /əbˈstrækt, æb-/ AWL verb [transitive] 1 WRITEto write a document containing the most important ideas or points from a speech, article etc2 formal to remove something from somewhere→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
abstract• His movements were slow, his gaze abstracted, as if he were composing a poem in his head.• Data used to produce the I9X binding profile was abstracted from reference 21.• It has art's power to translate, to abstract from the circumstances in which it originates.• Frequently we abstract from this covenant by singling out the Ten Commandments and ignoring much of the remainder of the Mosaic code.• Whatever musings had abstracted me from the charms of the city fled before the lucidity of that long-drawn-out instant of disaster.• At all levels past the rudimentary, strategies for abstracting meaning from text and imparting meaning into text count for nearly everything.From Longman Business Dictionaryabstractab‧stract /ˈæbstrækt/ noun [countable] a short written statement that contains the most important details of a longer piece of writing such as a newspaper article, a report, or a speechan abstract of the Chairman’s speech to the shareholdersOrigin abstract1 (1300-1400) Latin past participle of abstrahere, from abs- “away” + trahere “to pull” 