abstract
/ˈæbˌstɹækt/noun, adjective, verb
abstract is spelled A-B-S-T-R-A-C-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, abstract means “An abridgement or summary of a longer publication” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of abstract is abstracts.
How many letters and syllables are in abstract?
| Letters | 8: A-B-S-T-R-A-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,679th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is abstract?
Abstract appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abstract?
- US /ˈæbˌstɹækt/
As an adjective (“Derived; extracted”): /ˈæbˌstɹækt/, /ˌæbˈstɹækt/, /əbˈstɹækt/.
Abstract has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-abstract_(noun).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-abstract_(verb).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of abstract
- abstracts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- more abstract comparative
- abstracter comparative
- most abstract superlative
- abstractest superlative
- abstracting participle, present
- abstracted participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abstract mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abridgement or summary of a longer publication.
- 2
Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of a larger item, or multiple items.
- 3
Concentrated essence of a product.
- 4
A powdered solid extract of a medicinal substance mixed with lactose.
- 5
An abstraction; an abstract term; that which is abstract.
- 6
The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.
- 7
An abstract work of art.
- 8
A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteDerived; extracted.
- 2
archaicDrawn away; removed from; apart from; separate.
The more abstract we are from the body ... the more fit we shall be to behold divine light.
- 3
Not concrete: conceptual, ideal.
Her new film is an abstract piece, combining elements of magic realism, flashbacks, and animation but with very little in terms of plot construction.
- 4
Insufficiently factual.
- 5
Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.
- 6
As a noun, denoting a concept or intangible as opposed to an object, place, or person.
- 7
Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.
The politician gave a somewhat abstract answer when asked about their plans to cut spending.
- 8
Separately expressing a property or attribute of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object: attributive, ascriptive.
verb
- 1
To separate; to disengage.
- 2
To remove; to take away; withdraw.
- 3
To steal; to take away; to remove without permission.
- 4
obsoleteTo extract by means of distillation.
- 5
To draw off (interest or attention).
The young stranger had been abstracted and silent.
- 6
To withdraw oneself; to retire.
- 7
To consider abstractly; to contemplate separately or by itself; to consider theoretically; to look at as a general quality.
- 8
To conceptualize an ideal subgroup by means of the generalization of an attribute, as follows: by apprehending an attribute inherent to one individual, then separating that attribute and contemplating it by itself, then conceiving of that attribute as a general quality, then despecifying that conceived quality with respect to several or many individuals, and by then ideating a group composed of th
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate abstract?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of abstract: abs, abs., abstr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abstract in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | résumé , abstrait , abstraire , distiller , se retirer |
| German | Auszug, Zusammenfassung , trennen , abstrakt , entziehen , abstrahieren |
| Portuguese | resumo, sumário , abstrato , abstração , extrato , distraído |
| Spanish | resumen, extracto , abstraer , abstracción , arte abstracto , abstracto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abstract come from?
From Middle English abstract, borrowed from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahō (“draw away”), formed from abs- (“away”) + trahō (“to pull, draw”). The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).