Nominalization

/nˌɒmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/

/nˌɑːmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/

Nominalization

a process in language where a word or phrase, typically a verb or an adjective, is transformed into a noun, either by adding a suffix or by changing its syntactic function, allowing the expression of concepts or actions as nominal entities

Examples

1. That is, a nominalization, the conversion of a verb to a noun that reifies or thingifies a process, and which we, academics, are all too fond of.

2. The grandfather of all nominalizations, antidisestablishmentarianism, contains at least two verbs, three adjectives, and six other nouns inside its distended belly.

3. "The proliferation of nominalizations in a discursive formation may be an indication of a tendency towards pomposity and abstraction."

4. Orwell's satirical translation, on the other hand, is teeming with nominalizations and other vague abstractions.