abstraction

n 1: a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance;

"he loved her only in the abstract--not in person" [syn:

{abstract}]

2: the act of extracting something [syn: {extraction}]

3: the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting

common properties of instances [syn: {generalization}]

4: an abstract painting

5: preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else

[syn: {abstractedness}]

6: a general concept formed by extracting common features from

specific examples

eta abstraction

{eta conversion}