verblurring

Verblurring is a neologism in linguistics and literary studies describing a set of phenomena in which verbal forms extend into neighboring word classes, blurring the traditional boundaries between verb, noun, and adjective. The term captures how verbal concepts, functions, and semantics permeate other grammatical categories, often through grammaticalization, nominalization, and productive conversion.

Mechanisms include verb-to-noun conversion (nominalization) where verbs function as nouns without morphological change; the use of participles as adjectives (participial adjectives); and an increased use of deverbal nouns that preserve action-related meaning. In discourse, this can yield a compact, action-forward style, as verbs retain force even when presented as adjectives or nouns. Examples: "the running of the team" (nominal phrase with a verb-derived noun) and "a running commentary" (participial adjective signaling ongoing action). In journalism and media, verblurring can compress information by encoding aspectual or temporal information in noun phrases.

Reception: Verblurring is not universally accepted as a distinct phenomenon; it is debated how much these patterns reflect a single process versus multiple overlapping processes such as conversion, nominalization, or adjectives formed from participles. Nevertheless, the label is used to discuss patterns in English and other languages where verb-derived forms contribute to dense, action-oriented phrasing.

See also: verbalization, grammaticalization, conversion, gerund, participial adjective.