nominalization
Making words nouny
Nominalization is the process of turning a verb or adjective into a noun.
The verb *discover* becomes the noun *discovery*; the adjective *careless* becomes *carelessness*.
Academic and bureaucratic writing relies heavily on nominalization: The implementation of the program led to improvements in efficiency rather than We implemented the program and it worked better.
Overuse makes prose abstract and hard to follow.
Verb-derived noun form
- infinitiveUnconjugated verb form
- participleVerb form as adjective
- substantivizationConverting words to nouns
- clauseProvision in agreement
morpheme · lexeme · suffixation · affixation · compounding · derivation · morphology · syntax
Treating abstracts as concrete
- conversionAct of changing states
- denominalizationDeriving verbs from nouns
- word-formationCreating new vocabulary items
- categorizationArranging into groups
abstraction · conceptualization · productivity · back-formation
Formal name or title
- appellationName or title given
- denominationNamed religious group
- labelIdentifying attachment or marker
- titleFormal honorific or name
term · denotation · caption · inscription · identifier · heading · rubric · classification
gerund
Verb-derived noun form
- infinitiveUnconjugated verb form
- participleVerb form as adjective
- substantivizationConverting words to nouns
clause · morpheme · lexeme · suffixation · affixation · compounding · derivation · morphology · syntax · productivity
reification
Treating abstracts as concrete
- conversionAct of changing states
- denominalizationDeriving verbs from nouns
- word-formationCreating new vocabulary items
categorization · abstraction · conceptualization · productivity · back-formation
designation
Formal name or title
- appellationName or title given
- denominationNamed religious group
- labelIdentifying attachment or marker
title · term · denotation · caption · inscription · identifier · heading · rubric · classification
nominalizationactive voice
Subject performs the verb
plain language · denominalization · clarity · direct discourse
nominate, nomination, nominal, nominated, ignominious, nomenclature, nominating, nominates, nominally