Abstraction is the process of generalizing rules and concepts from specific examples, literal (real or concrete) signifiers, first principles, or other methods.
From its roots, abstraction should mean basically "something pulled or drawn away". So abstract art is art that has moved away from painting objects of the ordinary physical world in order to show something beyond it.
Abstraction is the process of generalising complex events in the real world to the abstract ideas that underly them, tucking away the complexities of the situation.
abstraction, the cognitive process of isolating, or “abstracting,” a common feature or relationship observed in a number of things, or the product of such a process.
abstraction (æbˈstrækʃən) n 1. absence of mind; preoccupation 2. the process of formulating generalized ideas or concepts by extracting common qualities from specific examples
Abstraction is the process of generalization by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically in order to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose.
ab•strac•tion /æbˈstrækʃən/ n. an abstract or general idea or term:[countable] The idea of injustice was just an abstraction to her. [uncountable] absent-mindedness; inattention.
Abstraction is the process of generalization by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically in order to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose.