Ism

ism |ˈizəm|

noun informal chiefly derogatory

a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology or an artistic movement.

Ferris Bueller said;

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.”

Wikipedia defines -ism as;

The suffix –ism denotes a distinctive system of beliefs, myth, doctrine or theory that guides a social movement, institution, class or group.

Origins

It is taken from the Greek suffix -ismos, Latin -ismus, and Old French -isme, that forms nouns from verbal stems.

Derivatives

ist noun

Examples

• religion or belief system (e.g. Buddhism, Mormonism, Judaism, Satanism)
• doctrine or philosophy (e.g. pacifism, olympism, nihilism)
• theory developed by an individual (e.g. Marxism, Maoism, see also List of ideologies named after people)
• political movement (e.g. feminism, egalitarianism)
• artistic movement (e.g. cubism)
• action, process or practice (e.g. voyeurism)
• characteristic, quality or origin (e.g. heroism)
• state or condition (e.g. pauperism)
• excess or disease (e.g. botulism)
• prejudice or bias (e.g. racism, sexism)
• characteristic speech patterns (e.g. Yogiism, Bushism)

Used in a sentence

Glenn Beck is a media whore who uses populism to spread ignorance and hate. He’s a bit like that batshit crazy Hitler, who enjoyed fascism.

Related terms: see ideology

Filed under: More You Know, P&J Glossary