Nouns: forming nouns from other words

We often form nouns from other parts of speech, most commonly from a verb or an adjective. We can then use the noun phrase instead of the verb or adjective to create a more formal style. We call this nominalisation:

excite → excitement	grow → growth	invade → invasion
fly → flight	industrial → industrialisation	wide → width

After 1900 there was a growth in trade with Europe. (less formal: After 1900 trade with Europe grew.)

The closure of the Meteorcorp factory caused 200 workers to lose their jobs. (less formal: Meteorcorp closed the factory and 200 workers lost their jobs.)

Nominalisation is common in writing, especially formal writing.

See also

• Word formation