Words with the suffix -ism
-ism means “doctrine, practice, system, or condition”, from Greek -ismos via Latin -ismus. It makes a word into a noun.
17 examples of the suffix -ism
- tourismtour + -ismpractice of traveling for pleasure
- racismrace + -ismdoctrine of racial superiority
- sexismsex + -ismdoctrine of gender-based discrimination
- heroismhero + -ismpractice or condition of being heroic
- baptismbapt + -ismpractice of ritual water immersion
- BuddhismBuddha + -ismdoctrine and practice of Buddha
- capitalismcapital + -ismsystem of private capital ownership
- socialismsocial + -ismsystem of collective social ownership
- optimismoptim + -ismdoctrine that good will prevail
- cynicismcynic + -ismdoctrine of distrusting human motives
- feminismfemin + -ismdoctrine of women's equal rights
- patriotismpatriot + -ismpractice of devoted love of country
- plagiarismplagiar + -ismpractice of stealing others' words
- metabolismmetabol + -ismcondition of bodily chemical processes
- anachronismanachron + -ismcondition of being out of time
Also: realism, criticism
How -ism works
The suffix '-ism' converts nouns, adjectives, or proper nouns into abstract nouns denoting a doctrine, system, practice, or condition, with no consonant assimilation variants (unlike '-in'). Spelling is generally stable, though a final silent 'e' may be dropped before the suffix, as in 'race' becoming 'racism'.
Watch out: The word 'prism' looks as though it ends in '-ism' but it does not; 'pr' is not a base and the word derives from Greek 'prisma' (something sawed), making '-ism' here a coincidental letter sequence, not the suffix.
To see suffixes combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.
Other common suffixes
- -able · capable of
- -ible · capable of
- -tion · act
- -ness · state
- -ly · in a specified manner
- -er · one who performs an action
- -ment · result
- -ful · full of
- -less · without
- -ous · having the quality of
- -ity · state
- -ist · one who practices or believes in
- -ize · to make or cause to become
- -al · of
- -ance · action
- -ence · action
- -ive · tending to
- -ship · state
Questions people ask
What does the suffix -ism mean?
-ism means “doctrine, practice, system, or condition”. It comes from Greek -ismos via Latin -ismus. The suffix '-ism' converts nouns, adjectives, or proper nouns into abstract nouns denoting a doctrine, system, practice, or condition, with no consonant assimilation variants (unlike '-in'). Spelling is generally stable, though a final silent 'e' may be dropped before the suffix, as in 'race' becoming 'racism'.
What are some examples of words with the suffix -ism?
tourism, racism, sexism, heroism, baptism, Buddhism, capitalism, socialism. The full list of 17 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.
Which words look like they have the suffix -ism but don’t?
The word 'prism' looks as though it ends in '-ism' but it does not; 'pr' is not a base and the word derives from Greek 'prisma' (something sawed), making '-ism' here a coincidental letter sequence, not the suffix.
What is a suffix?
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word. It often changes the part of speech: -ness turns the adjective kind into the noun kindness, and -ly turns quick into the adverb quickly.