different between concrete vs hypothetic

English

Etymology

From Latin concr?tus, past participle of concresc? (com- + cresc?).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?nk?i?t/, /k?n?k?i?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?k?n?k?i?t/, /?k?nk?i?t/
• Rhymes: -i?t

Adjective

concrete (comparative more concrete, superlative most concrete)

1. Real, actual, tangible.

   Fuzzy videotapes and distorted sound recordings are not concrete evidence that bigfoot exists.

   Once arrested, I realized that handcuffs are concrete, even if my concept of what is legal wasn’t.
2. Being or applying to actual things, not abstract qualities or categories.

   • The names of individuals are concrete, those of classes abstract.

   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard

     Concrete terms, while they express the quality, do also express, or imply, or refer to, some subject to which it belongs.

3. Particular, specific, rather than general.

   While everyone else offered thoughts and prayers, she made a concrete proposal to help.

   concrete ideas

4. United by coalescence of separate particles, or liquid, into one mass or solid.
   • 1684, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth

     The first concrete state, or consistent surface, of the chaos must be of the same figure as the last liquid state.

5. (modifying a noun, not comparable) Made of concrete, a building material.

   The office building had concrete flower boxes out front.

Synonyms

• (perceivable): tangible
• (not abstract): tangible
• (particular, specific): See also Thesaurus:specific

Antonyms

• (perceivable): intangible
• (not abstract): intangible, abstract
• (particular, specific): See also Thesaurus:generic
• (united): discrete

Translations

Noun

concrete (countable and uncountable, plural concretes)

1. (obsolete) A solid mass formed by the coalescence of separate particles; a compound substance, a concretion.
   • 1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist, page 26:

     "...upon the suppos’d Analysis made by the fire, of the former sort of Concretes, there are wont to emerge Bodies resembling those which they take for the Elements...

   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia:

     [T]he tincture of Cocheneel is nothing but some finer dissoluble parts of that Concrete lick'd up or dissolv'd by the fluid water.

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

   The road was made of concrete that had been poured in large slabs.

3. (logic) A term designating both a quality and the subject in which it exists; a concrete term.
   • 1843, John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic

     The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety".

4. Sugar boiled down from cane juice to a solid mass.
5. (US) A dessert of frozen custard with various toppings.
   • 2010, June Naylor, Judy Wiley, Insiders' Guide to Dallas and Fort Worth, page 54:

     Besides cones, Curley's serves sundaes, and concretes—custard with all sorts of yummy goodness blended in, like pecans, caramel, almonds, […]

   • 1990, John Lutz, Diamond Eyes, page 170:

     When Nudger and Claudia were finished eating they drove to the Ted Drewes frozen custard stand on Chippewa and stood in line for a couple of chocolate chip concretes.

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

Translations

See also

• cement
• mortar
• UHPC

Verb

concrete (third-person singular simple present concretes, present participle concreting, simple past and past participle concreted)

1. (usually transitive) To cover with or encase in concrete (building material).
   • 2005, The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction (?ISBN), page 95:

     CHAPTER 9: PREPARING FOR CONCRETING

   • 2008, David Squire et al, The First-Time Garden Specialist (?ISBN), page 12:

     Harmonizing the garden's style with the house is important, especially when considering the front garden. Too often, when moving into a new property, the car takes priority and concreting the area appears to be an imperative[.]

   • 2012, Formwork for Concrete Structures (?ISBN), page 417:

     The materials used for concreting should be stored properly[.]

2. (usually transitive) To solidify: to change from being abstract to being concrete (actual, real).
3. (intransitive, obsolete) To unite or coalesce into a mass or a solid body.
   • 1730, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments

     The blood of some who died of the plague could not be made to concrete.

   • 1845, The London Lancet:

     At three years her mother observed something come from her as she walked across the room, which, when examined, was found to be fat in a liquid state, which concreted when cold.

Usage notes

Etymologically, the antonym of concrete (verb) is secrete, but the two words have so far gone their different ways that this is scarcely noticed today.

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams

• cocenter

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

concrete

1. Inflected form of concreet

Anagrams

• concreet

Italian

Adjective

concrete

1. feminine plural of concreto

Latin

Participle

concr?te

1. vocative masculine singular of concr?tus

Spanish

Verb

concrete

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of concretar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of concretar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of concretar.

English

Alternative forms

• hypothetick (obsolete)

Adjective

hypothetic (comparative more hypothetic, superlative most hypothetic)

1. based on hypothesis or theory; hypothetical
2. existing as an abstract concept rather than a concrete reality

Translations