Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; existing in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult.

Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; -- opposed to concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word.

A state of separation from other things; as, to consider a subject in the abstract, or apart from other associated things.

stereotype=indicates that a class defines an abstraction so that no objects of this type exist except as objects of the specialized subtypes of this type. You can have pointers or references to abstract classes but you can not have any objects or variables of an abstract type. The pointers always refer to objects in a more specific concrete classes. [ uml.shape.gif ] [ uml.find.gif

Used to describe a class which describes behaviour, but which does not implement it. Many implementations of the behaviour might be available. Each is referred to as a concrete class. See also: concrete

Naming a quality, state, or action rather than a thing; not concrete; having little or no pictorial representation.

consider apart from a particular case or instance; "Let's abstract away from this particular example"

considered apart from any application to a particular object. expressing a quality apart from any object. ( honesty, whiteness) Opposite : see concrete

Having no reference to material objects or specific examples; not concrete.

In the photographic sense, an image that is conceived apart from concrete reality, generally emphasizing lines, colors and geometrical forms, and their relationship to one another.

Something that exists in theory rather than reality; can also refer to a quality or condition rather than to specific detail. An abstract description relies on impressions and lacks the specific, concrete detail that a reader can imagine.

Latin, withdrawn] lacking physical detail. The opposite of concrete. Poetry is concerned with the immediate, the specific, the concrete.

1. To do with, or existing in, thought rather than matter, or in theory rather than practice; not tangible or concrete; denoting a quality, condition, or intangible thing rather than a concrete object (e.g., freedom, love). 2. In visual arts, an image that reduces a subject to its essential visual elements (e.g., lines, shapes, colours).