Creating Distance
Pattern
Passive + nominalization + abstraction — emotional/relational remove
Definition
Producing a sense of detachment, objectivity, or emotional remove between the reader and the subject matter. Achieved through passive voice, nominalization, abstraction, and impersonal constructions.
Examples
Example 1
'The termination of employment was necessitated by organizational restructuring.' — abstract, passive, nominalized — creates maximum distance from the human reality of someone losing their job.
AI Detection Note
AI creates distance unintentionally through its default preference for abstract, nominalized, passive language. Human writers create distance deliberately for specific effects — and can also choose to close that distance, a flexibility AI lacks.
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