All 15 Uses of
abstract
in
Of Human Bondage
- He had read so much lately and thought so much that his mind was full of ideas which he wanted to discuss, and he knew nobody who was willing to interest himself in abstract things.
Chpt 37-38abstract = of general concepts or ideas that are not associated with any specific instance
- His mind was concrete and moved with difficulty in regions of the abstract;
Chpt 53-54 *abstract = of a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
- He did his duty, but he did it with an abstracted mind.†
Chpt 17-18
- On the green in the middle they practised at nets in the summer, but during the rest of the year it was quiet: boys used to wander round sometimes arm in arm, or a studious fellow with abstracted gaze walked slowly, repeating to himself something he had to learn by heart.†
Chpt 17-18
- He was at once eager and abstracted.†
Chpt 19-20
- He had a practical mind and moved uneasily amid the abstract; but he found an unexpected fascination in listening to metaphysical disquisitions; they made him breathless; it was a little like watching a tight-rope dancer doing perilous feats over an abyss; but it was very exciting.†
Chpt 31-32
- It's just abstract morality.'†
Chpt 45-46
- But there's no such thing as abstract morality.'†
Chpt 45-46
- Not from motives of abstract morality, but only from fear of the police.'†
Chpt 45-46
- "My dear fellow,' Cronshaw said, "there's no such thing as abstract morality.'†
Chpt 53-54
- They were white, most of them, ugly in the early morning, and they had an abstracted look; the younger ones walked lightly, as though the cement of the platform were pleasant to tread, but the others went as though impelled by a machine: their faces were set in an anxious frown.†
Chpt 57-58
- He watched the play with an abstracted mind, trying to give himself gaiety by drinking whiskey in each interval; he was unused to alcohol, and it affected him quickly, but his drunkenness was savage and morose.†
Chpt 77-78 *
- He appeared to have the same independence of thought, the same bohemianism, but he had an infinitely more vivacious temperament; his mind was coarser, and he had not that interest in the abstract which made Cronshaw's conversation so captivating.†
Chpt 87-88
- Her mind was of an order that could not deal for five minutes with the abstract, and when Philip gave way to his taste for generalising she very quickly showed that she was bored.†
Chpt 93-94
- Several of the young gentlemen wore lounge suits with white evening ties and red silk handkerchiefs; they were going to perform, and they had a busy, abstracted air; some were self-confident, but others were nervous, and they watched their public with an anxious eye.†
Chpt 103-104
Definitions:
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(1)
(abstract as in: abstract thought) of a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
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(2)
(abstract as in: read the abstract) a summary; or to summarize -- especially academic writing
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(3)
(abstract as in: abstract art) not imitating external reality or the objects of nature
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(4)
(abstracted as in: abstracted, so didn't notice) lost in thought; or distracted by thoughts
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(5)
(abstracted as in: abstracted his wallet) removed