Abstract Nouns in English
Learn how to detect abstractions. Most common abstract nouns.
Abstract nouns denote feelings, emotions, qualities, aspects, concepts, ideas, experience, states, traits, notions. Our 5 senses can’t detect abstract nouns – we can’t see, hear, smell, taste, or feel them. They have no color, size, shape, sound, odor, flavor, or texture. So any noun escaping the 5 senses is abstract.
love, hatred, joy, pleasure, strength, weakness
Frequent Abstractions
Emotions/Feelings
love
hate
anger
peace
pride
sympathy
adoration
amazement
anxiety
apprehension
awe
compassion
despair
excitement
fear
grief
happiness
infatuation
jealousy
joy
relief
shock
sorrow
surprise
thrill
States/Attributes
ability
bravery
loyalty
honesty
integrity
compassion
charity
success
courage
deceit
skill
beauty
brilliance
pain
misery
artistry
brutality
calm
childhood
clarity
coldness
comfort
confidence
contentment
curiosity
delight
determination
dexterity
disquiet
elegance
enthusiasm
envy
fascination
favoritism
fragility
generosity
honor
insanity
kindness
maturity
patience
pleasure
sadness
sanity
satisfaction
self-control
sensitivity
silliness
sophistication
strictness
stupidity
tiredness
uncertainty
warmth
worry
Ideas/Concepts/Ideals
belief
dream
justice
truth
faith
faithlessness
liberty
freedom
knowledge
thought
information
culture
trust
dedication
charity
democracy
dictatorship
disbelief
ego
evil
forgiveness
friendship
goodness
grace
hope
humility
imagination
intelligence
law
luck
luxury
memory
motivation
omen
opinion
peace
peculiarity
poverty
power
principle
reality
riches
romance
rumor
sacrifice
slavery
talent
tolerance
unemployment
wisdom
wit
Movements/Events
adventure
progress
education
hospitality
leisure
trouble
friendships
relaxation
chaos
communication
crime
service
death
defeat
disturbance
energy
enhancement
failure
gossip
hearsay
help
helplessness
humor
impression
improvement
inflation
laughter
life
loss
mercy
need
opportunity
redemption
refreshment
restoration
sleep
speculation
speed
submission
victory
Abstraction Formation
Abstract noun forms are very common in writing. They’re often derived from suffixes or verb alteration. Child is a concrete noun, for example, but childhood is an intangible state, so it is abstract. Nouns with the following suffixes are often abstract:
-tion
-ism
-ity
-ment
-ness
-age
-ance/-ence
-ship
-ability
-acy
Abstraction Countabilization
Usually uncountable (mass), abstract nouns occasionally denote special manifestations of their notions, become countable used with the indefinite article and are sometimes pluralized. They can also be in the possessive form.
He hated weakness.
She had a weakness for good clothes.
She had many small vanities and weaknesses.
Abstraction Ambiguity
Abstraction is an important part of communication. Abstract nouns enable to express information on image level. An important precaution for students and writers, however, is there is a danger of misunderstanding when using abstractions.
Words like love, freedom, beauty, taste, and justice might mean different things to different people. To one person, good taste means eclectic and original while to another it might mean clean and modern. Teachers and editors often recommend using concrete nouns to support any abstract references, therefore clarifying conveyed messages. Although abstractions give expression to intangible entities, sentences with fewer abstract and more concrete nouns are typically more concise and clear.