Definition of "ism" []

• Informal A distinctive doctrine, system, or theory: "Formalism, by being an 'ism,' kills form by hugging it to death” ( Peter Viereck). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I am shocked by the prejudices this camapaign has brought out from "under the jAmerican bed" and it seems the strongest "ism" is sexism."
• "As the use of the term ism more clearly defines Mao’s contribution than the term “thought”, many parties in India and the world too switched to ‘ism’."
• "The use of the term ism is more scientific than that of “thought” and more aptly defines Mao’s contribution to proletarian theory; and just because the then CPC used “thought”, and there was no use of the term Maoism during Mao’s lifetime as mentioned by Biswas, does not mean that we should mechanically copy what was done then."