ABSTRACTIONS Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

abstractions

noun

plural of abstraction

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of abstractions Preliterate people don’t focus on such abstractions as taking a periodic population census and recording it for posterity. — James Coffin, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026 One of Lichtenstein’s takes on Monet in this show features the cathedral buried beneath a matrix of black dots set atop a deep blue background, in what may count as an allusion to Ad Reinhardt’s blue-on-blue abstractions of the ’50s. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026 For much of the post-9/11 era, Muslims appeared in American culture as abstractions. — Ayman M. Mohyeldin, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026 These numbers are not abstractions, and trust may be the nonprofit sector’s most valuable currency. — Brian Peckrill, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026 The film is downright Tarkovskian for its initial hour, unspooling through eerie abstractions that heighten its lingering domestic turmoil. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026 Certain practical and loving people viewed abstractions as attempts to escape, and thus a way of failing at what was essential in life. — Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026 Billy’s main creative outlet in her years of solitude has been visual art, and her work—abstractions dominated by the geometric forms of Little Death’s air-vent face—seems like a closed circuit of self-therapy. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 31 July 2026 Yet American students and scholars flocked in droves to theory, perceiving in its recondite abstractions a thrilling new way of understanding the world—even, some believed, of changing it. — Emily Eakin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstractions

Noun

The notions of a coaching tree and writing being open to everyone are in answer to Terrell’s own experience growing up in Kansas City as an aspiring writer.

— Anne Kniggendorf, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026
Western traditions of symmetry and notions of linear time are upended.

— Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of notions

Noun

Our research and engineering remain world-class, but our record of getting ideas to market and improving how products are made has been less stellar.

— Rick Lazio, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
As the woman in the shop explained to them, and the editors dutifully left in the episode to exonerate them, part of the aesthetic is bridging international ideas of cuteness (or kawaii in Japanese).

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of ideas

Noun

Their writing would help concepts including gains from trade and the division of labor to take root in the popular imagination.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
And the expansion of the IRL Economy, just like the AI buildout, will require substantial capital to build and modernize venues, bring successful concepts to new markets and create entirely new offerings.

— Davis Noell, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of concepts

Noun

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and everyone affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.

— Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
The practice involves writing down your intrusive thoughts and fears, and even recording yourself talking about them, and playing that recording back to yourself.

— Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of thoughts

Noun

Many young adults who started families in the past twenty years were raised this way, which shaped their own conceptions of how to rear children.

— Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Whether destruction or technological progress, both are purposeful activities, each with different conceptions of success or failure.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of conceptions

Noun

Gacy painted over a thousand pictures, many of clowns, while on death row in the 1980s and 1990s.

— Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
To my eye, the differences between the 17 Pro and Duo in good lighting were minimal, but the Duo did capture marginally better detail in low light (see the cat pictures).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of pictures

Noun

Its digital platforms Drafting and Reign have now generated more than 1B impressions across Substack, IG and TikTok, with multiple original short stories published on Drafting now being developed for television.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026
Stay with PCMag before, throughout, and following the unveiling for the latest news and my impressions of all the products.

— Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of impressions

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abstraction

abstractions

abstracts

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“Abstractions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstractions. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of abstractions

noun

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