Abstract vs. Concrete — What's the Difference?

Theoretical and not linked to practical use.

Existing in a material or physical form.

Pertaining to ideas not physically existent.

Pertaining to an actual substance or thing as opposed to an abstract quality.

Existing in thought as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence.

Relating to real, tangible objects.

Not concrete or related to tangible things.

Real, not abstract or theoretical.

Relating to general ideas or qualities rather than specific objects.

Specific and definite rather than abstract.

Considered apart from concrete existence

Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. In the past, lime based cement binders, such as lime putty, were often used but sometimes with other hydraulic cements, such as a calcium aluminate cement or with Portland cement to form Portland cement concrete (named for its visual resemblance to Portland stone).

Not applied or practical; theoretical.

Existing in a material or physical form; not abstract

Difficult to understand; abstruse

A building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement, and water, which can be spread or poured into moulds and forms a mass resembling stone on hardening

Denoting something that is immaterial, conceptual, or nonspecific, as an idea or quality

Cover (an area) with concrete

Impersonal, as in attitude or views.

Form (something) into a mass; solidify

Having an intellectual and affective artistic content that depends solely on intrinsic form rather than on narrative content or pictorial representation

Of or relating to an actual, specific thing or instance; particular

A statement summarizing the important points of a text.

Relating to nouns, such as flower or rain, that denote a material or tangible object or phenomenon.

Something abstract.

Existing in reality or in real experience; perceptible by the senses; real

An abstract of title.

Formed by the coalescence of separate particles or parts into one mass; solid.

To take away; remove

Made of hard, strong, conglomerate construction material.

To remove without permission; steal

A hard, strong construction material consisting of sand, conglomerate gravel, pebbles, broken stone, or slag in a mortar or cement matrix.

To consider (an idea, for example) as separate from particular examples or objects

A mass formed by the coalescence of particles.

(ăbstrăkt′) To write a summary of; summarize

To build, treat, or cover with hard, strong conglomerate construction material.

To create artistic abstractions of (something else, such as a concrete object or another style)

To form into a mass by coalescence or cohesion of particles or parts.

An abridgement or summary of a longer publication.

To harden; solidify.

Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of a larger item, or multiple items.

Real, actual, tangible.

Concentrated essence of a product.

Being or applying to actual things, not abstract qualities or categories.

(medicine) A powdered solid extract of a medicinal substance mixed with lactose.

Particular, specific, rather than general.

An abstraction; an abstract term; that which is abstract.

United by coalescence of separate particles, or liquid, into one mass or solid.

The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.

Made of concrete, a building material.

(arts) An abstract work of art.

(obsolete) A solid mass formed by the coalescence of separate particles; a compound substance, a concretion.

(real estate) A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.

Specifically, a building material created by mixing cement, water, and aggregate such as gravel and sand.

(obsolete) Derived; extracted.

(logic) A term designating both a quality and the subject in which it exists; a concrete term.

Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate.

Sugar boiled down from cane juice to a solid mass.

Not concrete: conceptual, ideal.

(US) A dessert of frozen custard with various toppings.

Insufficiently factual.

(chemistry) An extract of herbal materials that has a semi-solid consistency, especially when such materials are partly aromatic.

Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.

To cover with or encase in concrete (building material).

(grammar) As a noun, denoting a concept or intangible as opposed to an object, place, or person.

To solidify: to change from being abstract to being concrete (actual, real).

Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.

To unite or coalesce into a mass or a solid body.

Separately expressing a property or attribute of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object: attributive, ascriptive.

United in growth; hence, formed by coalition of separate particles into one mass; united in a solid form.

Pertaining comprehensively to, or representing, a class or group of objects, as opposed to any specific object; considered apart from any application to a particular object: general, generic, nonspecific; representational.

Standing for an object as it exists in nature, invested with all its qualities, as distinguished from standing for an attribute of an object; - opposed to abstract.

(archaic) Absent-minded.

A compound or mass formed by concretion, spontaneous union, or coalescence of separate particles of matter in one body.

(arts) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them.

A mixture of gravel, pebbles, or broken stone with cement or with tar, etc., used for sidewalks, roadways, foundations, etc., and esp. for submarine structures.

Free from representational qualities, in particular the non-representational styles of the 20^th century.

A term designating both a quality and the subject in which it exists; a concrete term.

(music) Absolute.

Sugar boiled down from cane juice to a solid mass.

(dance) Lacking a story.

To unite or coalesce, as separate particles, into a mass or solid body.

Being a partial basis for subclasses rather than a complete template for objects.

To form into a mass, as by the cohesion or coalescence of separate particles.

(transitive) To separate; to disengage.

To cover with, or form of, concrete, as a pavement.

(transitive) To remove; to take away; withdraw.

A strong hard building material composed of sand and gravel and cement and water

To steal; to take away; to remove without permission.

Cover with cement;

(transitive) To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize.

Form into a solid mass; coalesce

To conceptualize an ideal subgroup by means of the generalization of an attribute, as follows: by apprehending an attribute inherent to one individual, then separating that attribute and contemplating it by itself, then conceiving of that attribute as a general quality, then despecifying that conceived quality with respect to several or many individuals, and by then ideating a group composed of those individuals perceived to possess said quality.

Capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary;

To extract by means of distillation.

Formed by the coalescence of particles

(transitive) To consider abstractly; to contemplate separately or by itself; to consider theoretically; to look at as a general quality.

To withdraw oneself; to retire.

(transitive) To draw off (interest or attention).

To perform the process of abstraction.

To create abstractions.

To produce an abstraction, usually by refactoring existing code. Generally used with "out".

Withdraw; separate.

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.

Abstracted; absent in mind.

To withdraw; to separate; to take away.

To draw off in respect to interest or attention; as, his was wholly abstracted by other objects.

To separate, as ideas, by the operation of the mind; to consider by itself; to contemplate separately, as a quality or attribute.

To epitomize; to abridge.

To take secretly or dishonestly; to purloin; as, to abstract goods from a parcel, or money from a till.

To separate, as the more volatile or soluble parts of a substance, by distillation or other chemical processes. In this sense extract is now more generally used.

To perform the process of abstraction.

That which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief.

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

An abstract term.

A powdered solid extract of a vegetable substance mixed with sugar of milk in such proportion that one part of the abstract represents two parts of the original substance.

A concept or idea not associated with any specific instance;

A sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory

Consider a concept without thinking of a specific example; consider abstractly or theoretically

Make off with belongings of others

Consider apart from a particular case or instance;

Give an abstract (of)

Existing only in the mind; separated from embodiment;

Not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature;

Based on specialized theory;

Dealing with a subject in the abstract without practical purpose or intention;

An abstract concept is an idea that does not have a physical form and is not directly observable.

In grammar, concrete refers to actual things or events that can be observed.

They often symbolize deeper meanings and provoke thought.

By using metaphors, analogies, or relating them to concrete experiences.

While some concepts like emotions are universal, their understanding can vary.

Examples include liberty, love, and happiness.

Because they relate to direct sensory experiences.

They provide measurable and observable factors essential for empirical evidence.

Using physical objects to explain scientific principles.

Abstract poetry focuses on ideas and emotions, whereas concrete poetry uses visual form and structure to convey meaning.

They can be represented through concrete examples but remain inherently abstract.

Yes, it's critical in fields requiring problem-solving and theoretical understanding.

Concrete terms usually enhance clarity, while abstract terms can enrich expression but may require more explanation.