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Glite Dictionary
📝 Newly written summary 💭 Conceptual, not concrete
abstractive

abstractive

9.9
Able to think about general ideas rather than specific things
  • adjective
  • /æbˈstræktɪv/
translation icon : abstracto
  • Here, Dewey was able to make use of what he called the principle of "selective emphasis." Selective emphasis is necessary, Dewey argued, for all reflective, intelligent inquiry, for selection from the total has to be made, the problem isolated, and abstractive analysis brought to bear upon it.

Examples

  • In mathematics, abstractive reasoning is essential for solving complex problems that require conceptual thinking.

  • To answer that question he searches his heart, and in doing so makes what I term an abstractive observation.

  • Her abstractive skills allowed her to connect theories from different fields of study and form a cohesive understanding.

  • The artist's abstract paintings demonstrate an abstractive style that challenges viewers to interpret their own meanings.

Antonyms

concrete
206 3.9

Real and possible to touch rather than abstract

literal
120 3.5

Exactly true without exaggeration or metaphor

How Abstract

abstractive
9.9
concrete
206 3.9

Surface Forms

abstractive positive

Morphology

abstractive = abstract (transparent) = abstract + ive

Formed directly from the adjective 'abstract' with the productive suffix '-ive', so the meaning 'relating to abstraction' is directly recoverable.

Etymology

Abstractive comes from abstract, made of ab- 'away' and tract 'draw', the same root you see in tractor. So to be abstractive is to 'draw away' from concrete details and make a general idea.