What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Abstract vs Well - What's the difference?

abstract | well |

As a noun abstract

is abstract.

As an adjective well is

wild.

abstract

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl), from (etyl) abstractus, perfect passive participle of .

Noun

(en noun)
  • An abridgement or summary.
  • * — An abstract of every treatise he had read.
  • Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of larger item, or multiple items.
  • * — Man, the abstract Of all perfection, which the workmanship Of Heaven hath modeled.
  • # Concentrated essence of a product.
  • # (medicine) A powdered solid extract of a medicinal substance mixed with lactose.
  • An abstraction; an term; that which is abstract.
  • * — The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety".
  • The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.
  • (arts) An abstract work of art.
  • (real estate) A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.
  • Usage notes
    * (theoretical way of looking at things) Preceded, typically, by the .
    Synonyms
    * (statement summarizing the important points of a text) abridgment, compendium, epitome, synopsis
    Derived terms
    * abstract of title

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • (obsolete) Derived; extracted.
  • (now, rare) Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate.
  • * 17th century , , The Oxford Dictionary :
  • The more abstract we are from the body ... the more fit we shall be to behold divine light.
  • Expressing a property or attribute separately of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object.
  • Considered apart from any application to a particular object; not concrete; ideal; non-specific; general, as opposed to specific.
  • * - A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract' name which stands for an attribute of a thing. A practice has grown up in more modern times, which, if not introduced by Locke, has gained currency from his example, of applying the expression "' abstract name" to all names which are the result of abstraction and generalization, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes.
  • Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.
  • *
  • (archaic) Absent-minded.
  • * Milton
  • abstract , as in a trance
  • *
  • (arts) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them.
  • # (arts, often, capitalized) Free from representational qualities, in particular the non-representational styles of the 20th century.
  • # (music) Absolute.
  • # (dance) Lacking a story.
  • Insufficiently factual.
  • Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.
  • (grammar) As a noun, denoting an intangible as opposed to an object, place, or person.
  • (computing) Of a class in object-oriented programming, being a partial basis for subclasses rather than a complete template for objects.
  • Synonyms
    * (not applied or practical) conceptual, theoretical * (insufficiently factual) formal * (difficult to understand) abstruse
    Antonyms
    * (not applied or practical) applied, practical * (considered apart from concrete existence) concrete
    Derived terms
    * abstractly * abstractness * abstract idea * abstract noun * abstract numbers * abstract terms
    See also
    * reify

    Etymology 2

    First attested in 1542. Partly from' English abstract (adjective form), ' and from (etyl) abstrat past participle of .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To separate; to disengage.
  • * - He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices.
  • To remove; to take away; withdraw.
  • *
  • * Sir Walter Scott
  • He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices.
  • (euphemistic) To steal; to take away; to remove without permission.
  • * - Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness.
  • To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize.
  • (Franklin)
  • (obsolete) To extract by means of distillation.
  • *
  • To consider abstractly; to contemplate separately or by itself; to consider theoretically; to look at as a general quality.
  • *
  • (intransitive, reflexive, literally, figuratively) To withdraw oneself; to retire.
  • To draw off (interest or attention).
  • * , Blackwood's Magazine - The young stranger had been abstracted and silent.
  • He was wholly abstracted by other objects.
  • (rare) To perform the process of abstraction.
  • * - I own myself able to abstract in one sense.
  • (fine arts) To create abstractions.
  • (computing) To produce an abstraction, usually by refactoring existing code. Generally used with "out".
  • He abstracted out the square root function.
    Usage notes
    * (to separate or disengage) Followed by the word from . * (to withdraw oneself) Followed by the word from . * (to summarize) Pronounced predominately as /?æb?strækt/. * All other senses are pronounced as /æb?strækt/.
    Synonyms
    * remove, separate, take away, withdraw * abridge, epitomize, summarize * filch, purloin, steal
    Derived terms
    * abstractable * abstracted * abstracter * abstractor

    References

    * English heteronyms ----

    well

    English

    (wikipedia well)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) (m), . Related to (will).

    Alternative forms

    * (dialectal) * (Scotland) *

    Adverb

  • (lb) Accurately, competently, satisfactorily.
  • * {{quote-book, 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, chapter=The Tutor's Daughter, Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page= 266
  • , passage=In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well -remembered road.}}
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well . Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}
  • (lb) Completely, fully.
  • *
  • Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.
  • (lb) To a significant degree.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Very (as a general-purpose intensifier).
  • * 1999 , "Drummond Pearson", What Ash are doing right now...'' (on Internet newsgroup ''alt.music.ash )
  • That guy rocks! I think he's called Matthew Lillard or sommat but he is well cool in Scream.
  • * 2002 , "jibaili", FIFA 2003 How is it?'' (on Internet newsgroup ''microsoft.public.xbox )
  • Hey Dude / FIFA 2003 is well wicked, I've got FIFA 2002 on PS2, David Beckham on Xbox and Football Manager on Xbox too, out of all pf(SIC) them FIFA 2003 is easliy(SIC) the best.
  • * 2003 , Steve Eddy, Empower, Book 2
  • Hey, you should've seen it, it was well good.
  • In such manner as is desirable; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favourably; advantageously.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • It boded well to you.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • Know / In measure what the mind may well contain.
  • * (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • All the world speaks well of you.
    Derived terms
    * all too well * as well * do well by doing good * full well * fully well * just as well * pretty well * well and truly * well-behaved * well-known * well-mannered * well-padded * well-read * well-used

    Adjective

  • In good health.
  • I had been sick, but now I'm well .
  • (archaic) Prudent; good; well-advised.
  • * 1897 , National Association of Railway Surgeons, Railway surgeon , page 191:
  • On leaving the operating table it is well to put the patient in a bed previously warmed and supplied with hot cans.
    Derived terms
    * full well * get well * * well-being

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Used to acknowledge a statement or situation.
  • * , chapter=5
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=“Well ,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.}}
  • An exclamation of surprise, often doubled or tripled.
  • Used in speech to express the overcoming of reluctance to say something.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=“Well ,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.}}
  • Used in speech to fill gaps; filled pause.
  • Derived terms
    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids.
  • * Bible, John iv. 11
  • The woman said unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.
  • A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally; a spring.
  • * Milton
  • Begin, then, sisters of the sacred well .
  • A small depression suitable for holding liquid, or other objects.
  • (figurative) A source of supply.
  • * Spenser
  • Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled
  • * Keble
  • a well of serious thought and pure
  • (nautical) A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate.
  • (nautical) The cockpit of a sailboat.
  • (nautical) A compartment in the middle of the hold of a fishing vessel, made tight at the sides, but having holes perforated in the bottom to let in water to keep fish alive while they are transported to market.
  • (nautical) A vertical passage in the stern into which an auxiliary screw propeller may be drawn up out of the water.
  • (military) A hole or excavation in the earth, in mining, from which run branches or galleries.
  • (architecture) An opening through the floors of a building, as for a staircase or an elevator; a wellhole.
  • (metalworking) The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls.
  • A well drink.
  • They're having a special tonight: $1 wells .
  • (video games) The playfield of the video game Tetris , into which the blocks fall.
  • Derived terms
    * ink well * light well (architecture) * oil well * spare tire well, spare tyre well * window well (architecture) * wishing well

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) (m). Cognate with German .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To issue forth, as water from the earth; to flow; to spring.
  • * Dryden
  • [Blood] welled from out the wound.
  • * Bryant
  • [Yon spring] wells softly forth.
  • To have something seep out of the surface.
  • Her eyes welled with tears.