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Synonyms

ism

1 American  
[iz-uhm] / ˈɪz əm /

noun

  1. a distinctive doctrine, theory, system, or practice.

    This is the age of isms.
-ism 2 American  

  1. a suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form action nouns from verbs (baptism ); on this model, used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice, state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion or adherence, etc. (criticism; barbarism; Darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism; intellectualism ).

-ism 1 British  

suffix

  1. indicating an action, process, or result

    criticism

    terrorism

  2. indicating a state or condition

    paganism

  3. indicating a doctrine, system, or body of principles and practices

    Leninism

    spiritualism

  4. indicating behaviour or a characteristic quality

    heroism

  5. indicating a characteristic usage, esp of a language

    colloquialism

    Scotticism

  6. indicating prejudice on the basis specified

    sexism

    ageism
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ISM 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. interstellar medium

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ism 3 British  
/ ˈɪzəm /

noun

  1. informal an unspecified doctrine, system, or practice

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ism1

Extracted from words with the suffix -ism

Origin of -ism2

From Greek -ismos, -isma noun suffixes, often directly, often through Latin -ismus, -isma, sometimes through French -isme, German -ismus (all ultimately from Greek )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Isms, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon: ‘I don’t believe in “Beatles,” I just believe in me.’

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2024

“What you worry about ism this is two hours a day, right?”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2020

Careerism is futile, yet somehow it is the only ism standing.

From The Guardian • Apr. 23, 2020

But even though this is abstract photography decades before it became an ism in art, his work is seen as scientific.

From Slate • Sep. 13, 2016

Long, unfamiliar words ending in tion, ism, and actic, with more talk about “the people” thrown in for good measure, like Big Ma throwing a pinch of salt into the cake batter.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.