abstract
About ideas rather than things you can touch.
abstract in a sentence
- Fairness is an abstract idea, but everyone knows when it is missing.
- He struggles with abstract maths and prefers counting real objects.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to abstract?
- Aphysical
- Btheoretical
- Cconcrete
Show the answer
B: theoretical. The other three mean the opposite of abstract.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to abstract?
- Aintangible
- Bconcrete
- Ctheoretical
Show the answer
B: concrete. The other three mean nearly the same as abstract.
Words that mean something similar
theoretical, intangible
Words that mean the opposite
concrete, physical
More words about thinking & learning
- absurd: So silly that it makes no sense at all.
- accurate: Exactly right, with no mistakes in it.
- adept: Very good and skilled at doing something.
- alternative: A different choice that could be used instead.
- amateur: Someone who does an activity for fun rather than as a job.
- ambiguous: Unclear because it could mean more than one thing.
- analyse: To study something closely, part by part.
- apparent: Easy to see or understand; clear.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test