Abstract Nouns: Definition, Examples and List
An abstract noun is a noun that names a quality, feeling, idea, state or action that you cannot see, touch, hear, taste or smell. Honesty, happiness, freedom, childhood and success are abstract nouns. You can think about them, but you cannot hold them in your hand.
Abstract nouns are one of the main kinds of noun, along with common and proper nouns and collective nouns. This lesson gives the definition, a long list grouped by meaning, an easy test to spot them, and the endings used to form them. Practise afterwards with the abstract nouns worksheet.
What Is an Abstract Noun? (Definition)
An abstract noun is the name of a quality, feeling, idea, state or action. It has no physical form and cannot be known through the five senses.
Honesty is the best policy. (quality)
She jumped with joy. (feeling)
Everyone has the right to education. (idea)
He spent his childhood in Kerala. (state)
Abstract Nouns vs Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun names something you can see, touch, hear, smell or taste: table, river, Meera, perfume, sugar. An abstract noun names something that exists only as a thought, a feeling or a quality.
Ask: Can I see it, touch it, hear it, smell it or taste it? If the answer is yes, the noun is concrete. If the answer is no, it is abstract. You can see a brave soldier, but bravery itself you cannot.
| Concrete noun | Abstract noun | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| friend | friendship | My friend values our friendship. |
| child | childhood | The child is enjoying her childhood. |
| hero | heroism | The hero was praised for his heroism. |
| thief | theft | The thief was caught after the theft. |
| teacher | teaching | The teacher loves teaching. |
| king | kingdom | The king ruled a large kingdom. |
Some nouns can be both. Beauty is abstract (Beauty fades), while a beauty can mean a beautiful person. Youth is abstract (the joy of youth), while a youth means a young person. The meaning in the sentence decides.
Abstract Nouns List
Here are common abstract nouns grouped by meaning. Learn them in groups; it is easier to remember them this way.
| Group | Examples |
|---|---|
| Feelings and emotions | happiness, sadness, anger, fear, joy, love, hatred, jealousy, pride, shame, surprise, excitement, worry, hope, grief, loneliness |
| Qualities and character | honesty, kindness, courage, bravery, patience, wisdom, intelligence, generosity, loyalty, laziness, humility, cruelty, politeness |
| States and conditions | health, sickness, poverty, wealth, youth, childhood, old age, freedom, slavery, peace, silence, darkness, sleep, death, life, danger, safety |
| Ideas and concepts | justice, truth, knowledge, education, democracy, culture, beauty, time, faith, fate, luck, reason, idea, opinion, memory |
| Actions and events (as nouns) | movement, decision, arrival, departure, success, failure, growth, discovery, argument, celebration, marriage, invention |
| Values and social ideas | equality, unity, patriotism, discipline, respect, responsibility, citizenship, friendship, brotherhood, honour, independence |
| Size and measurement ideas | length, width, height, depth, weight, speed, strength, distance |
How to Form Abstract Nouns
Many abstract nouns are made from adjectives, verbs or common nouns by adding an ending or changing the word. These are useful for school exams and also for building word families.
From adjectives
| Ending or change | Adjective | Abstract noun |
|---|---|---|
| -ness | kind, happy, sad, dark, lazy | kindness, happiness, sadness, darkness, laziness |
| -ity | able, active, equal, popular | ability, activity, equality, popularity |
| -ce / -cy | important, intelligent, patient, accurate, private | importance, intelligence, patience, accuracy, privacy |
| -y | honest, difficult, jealous | honesty, difficulty, jealousy |
| -dom | free, wise, bored | freedom, wisdom, boredom |
| -th (spelling may change) | long, strong, wide, deep, true, warm, young | length, strength, width, depth, truth, warmth, youth |
| -ry / -ty / -ism | brave, safe, real | bravery, safety, realism |
Note the spelling changes: happy → happiness (y becomes i), able → ability (-le is replaced by -ility), true → truth (the final e is dropped), strong → strength.
From verbs
| Ending or change | Verb | Abstract noun |
|---|---|---|
| -tion / -sion / -ation | educate, decide, imagine, invent | education, decision, imagination, invention |
| -ment | move, achieve, agree, amuse | movement, achievement, agreement, amusement |
| -ance / -ence | perform, appear, depend, prefer | performance, appearance, dependence, preference |
| -al | arrive, refuse, approve | arrival, refusal, approval |
| -ure | fail, please, press | failure, pleasure, pressure |
| -ing | teach, swim, read | teaching, swimming, reading |
| Other changes | choose, think, know, die, grow, lose | choice, thought, knowledge, death, growth, loss |
From common nouns
| Ending | Common noun | Abstract noun |
|---|---|---|
| -hood | child, brother, neighbour, mother | childhood, brotherhood, neighbourhood, motherhood |
| -ship | friend, member, leader, citizen | friendship, membership, leadership, citizenship |
| -ism | hero, patriot, tourist | heroism, patriotism, tourism |
| -dom | king, star, martyr | kingdom, stardom, martyrdom |
| -ry | slave, rival, bribe, robber | slavery, rivalry, bribery, robbery |
A word ending in -ness, -tion, -ment, -ship, -hood, -dom, -ity or -ance is very often an abstract noun. But always check the meaning: kingdom can be a real country, and station (ending in -tion) is a concrete noun.
Using Abstract Nouns in Sentences
Abstract nouns can be the subject, the object or the complement of a sentence, and they follow prepositions.
Patience is a great virtue. (subject)
The teacher praised her honesty. (object)
Her greatest strength is determination. (complement)
He answered with confidence. (after a preposition)
Replacing an adjective with an abstract noun makes a sentence formal and compact: She is very intelligent becomes Her intelligence impressed everyone. For the same idea used heavily in academic writing, see nominalization.
Abstract Nouns: Countable or Uncountable?
Most abstract nouns are uncountable: they take no a/an and no plural -s. This is where learners most often go wrong.
| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Right |
|---|---|
| She gave me some advices. | She gave me some advice. |
| I need more informations. | I need more information. |
| He has a great knowledge of history. | He has great knowledge of history. |
| Those were the happiest days of my childhoods. | Those were the happiest days of my childhood. |
| The students showed good behaviours. | The students showed good behaviour. |
Some abstract nouns are countable when they mean a particular case: an idea, two ideas; a dream; a problem; an opinion; a decision; a success; a failure; a difficulty. Compare: Honesty matters (general, uncountable) and He made a decision (one decision, countable). More on this is in countable and uncountable nouns: the rule Indians keep breaking.
Also, we usually use no the when we speak about the idea in general: Honesty is the best policy. (not The honesty is…). We use the when we mean a specific one: The honesty of this shopkeeper is well known.
✍️ Quick Practice — Find the Abstract Nouns
Write the abstract noun(s) in each sentence.
- The soldier was awarded a medal for his bravery.
- Wisdom comes with experience.
- Her kindness touched everyone in the village.
- The children shouted with excitement at the arrival of the train.
- Freedom and equality are important in a democracy.
- I admire her patience.
Answers: 1. bravery | 2. wisdom, experience | 3. kindness | 4. excitement, arrival | 5. freedom, equality, democracy | 6. patience
✍️ Quick Practice — Form the Abstract Noun
- wise
- decide
- friend
- strong
- child
- move
- brave
- long
Answers: 1. wisdom | 2. decision | 3. friendship | 4. strength | 5. childhood | 6. movement | 7. bravery | 8. length
✍️ Quick Practice — Abstract or Concrete?
- mountain
- courage
- Ravi
- happiness
- freedom
- notebook
Answers: 1. concrete | 2. abstract | 3. concrete (also a proper noun) | 4. abstract | 5. abstract | 6. concrete
For more practice, take the nouns practice test and read all the types of nouns.
Summary
An abstract noun names a quality (honesty), a feeling (joy), an idea (justice), a state (childhood) or an action as a thing (decision). You cannot perceive it with the five senses. Many are formed with -ness, -ity, -dom, -th from adjectives, -tion, -ment, -ance from verbs, and -hood, -ship, -ism from nouns. Most are uncountable, so say advice and information, never advices or informations.
Key takeaway: if you can’t see, touch, hear, smell or taste it, it is an abstract noun.