Abstract Nouns

Abstract Nouns

If you do much at all regarding writing or editing, you’re bound to run “abstract nouns.” To improve your writing, you should learn as much as you can about them as they are crucial to expressing yourself.

According to YourDictionary.com, an abstract noun is a type of noun that refers to something with which a person cannot physically interact. A noun is a person, place, or thing. However, in many cases, the “thing” might be an intangible concept—which means it is an abstract form of noun. In this instance, abstract means to exist apart from concrete existence. A noun that is abstract is an aspect, concept, idea, experience, state of being, trait, quality, feeling, or other entity that cannot be experienced with the five senses.

I have always found that lists and examples help me to learn, so I’ve inlcuded a list of abstract nouns. The list below is from YourDictionary.com.

Common Abstract Nouns

Showing Human Qualities or Characteristics

• Beauty
• Bravery
• Brilliance
• Brutality
• Calm
• Charity
• Coldness
• Compassion
• Confidence
• Contentment
• Courage
• Curiosity
• Dedication
• Determination
• Ego
• Elegance
• Enthusiasm
• Envy
• Evil
• Fear
• Generosity
• Goodness
• Graciousness
• Hatred
• Honesty
• Honor
• Hope
• Humility
• Humor
• Insanity
• Integrity
• Intelligence
• Jealousy
• Kindness
• Loyalty
• Maturity
• Patience
• Perseverance
• Sanity
• Self-control
• Sensitivity
• Sophistication
• Stupidity
• Sympathy
• Talent
• Tolerance
• Trust
• Warmth
• Weakness
• Wisdom
• Wit

Showing Emotions/Feelings

• Adoration
• Amazement
• Anger
• Anxiety
• Apprehension
• Clarity
• Delight
• Despair
• Disappointment
• Disbelief
• Excitement
• Fascination
• Friendship
• Grief
• Happiness
• Hate
• Helpfulness
• Helplessness
• Infatuation
• Joy
• Love
• Misery
• Pain
• Pleasure
• Power
• Pride
• Relaxation
• Relief
• Romance
• Sadness
• Satisfaction
• Silliness
• Sorrow
• Strength
• Surprise
• Tiredness
• Uncertainty
• Wariness
• Weariness
• Worry

More Examples of Abstract Nouns

• Ability
• Adventure
• Artistry
• Awe
• Belief
• Chaos
• Comfort
• Communication
• Consideration
• Crime
• Culture
• Customer service
• Death
• Deceit
• Defeat
• Democracy
• Dexterity
• Dictatorship
• Disquiet
• Disturbance
• Dreams
• Energy
• Enhancement
• Failure
• Faith
• Faithfulness
• Faithlessness
• Favoritism
• Forgiveness
• Fragility
• Frailty
• Freedom
• Gossip
• Grace
• Hearsay
• Homelessness
• Hurt
• Idea
• Idiosyncrasy
• Imagination
• Impression
• Improvement
• Inflation
• Information
• Justice
• Knowledge
• Laughter
• Law
• Liberty
• Life
• Loss
• Luck
• Luxury
• Memory
• Mercy
• Motivation
• Movement
• Need
• Omen
• Opinion
• Opportunism
• Opportunity
• Parenthood
• Patriotism
• Peace
• Peculiarity
• Poverty
• Principle
• Reality
• Redemption
• Refreshment
• Riches
• Rumor
• Service
• Shock
• Skill
• Slavery
• Sleep
• Sparkle
• Speculation
• Speed
• Strictness
• Submission
• Success
• Thought
• Thrill
• Truth
• Unemployment
• Unreality
• Victory
• Wealth

See more on this abstract noun word list.

As you can see, there are a lot of words you probably use on a regular basis. The best list I found was one at YourDictionary.com, which included links to definitions.

If you want more articles like this, check out our page on “pre” words..

You can download this list as a PDF by clicking here.

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar, publishing., and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count, they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who used to take walks with Giacomo every day.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with forty-five loving “friends.”