Power Suffixes for Twelfth Grade Students: -ism

The most dense and diverse community is found in the human digestive tract; it aids in the digestion of food, the development and maintenance of the immune system and the regulation of our metabolism. Scientific American (Aug 1, 2019)

Nestled in the lush volcanic hills running down the spine of Java, the archipelago's most populous island, Solo is a hub of traditional Javanese culture, blending elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism. Reuters (Aug 26, 2016)

A very interesting hot-off-the-press paper further sheds light on the similarities and differences between narcissism and self-esteem. Scientific American (Oct 29, 2017)

Atticus Finch is his court-appointed lawyer, and after he gets the case, his daughter, Scout, the narrator, must contend with the disdain and ostracism of their neighbors. Slate (Oct 4, 2018)

He told us he is determined to bring up his young son Joao as a feminist, in contrast to the intense chauvinism he himself witnessed as a child. BBC (Dec 2, 2016)

Thomas Jefferson, a lawyer and scientist, built the primary justification for the nation's independence on the thinking of Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon and John Locke—the creators of physics, inductive reasoning and empiricism. Scientific American (Oct 17, 2012)

Where they once promoted unbridled hedonism, they’ve now become unlikely crusaders against the excesses of restaurant culture. The New Yorker (May 20, 2019)

A man so conventional, so scrupulously correct as the Director—and to commit so gross a solecism! Brave New World

I hope that my children will show stoicism and perseverance through adversity, as well as an ability to think for themselves and challenge conventional wisdom when necessary. Wall Street Journal (Feb 14, 2018)

After his father was elected president in 2013, Maduro Jr. was named to lead a new corps of inspectors of the presidency, fueling allegations of nepotism. Washington Post (Jun 28, 2019)

It’s worth asking, for instance, how his patriotism curdled into jingoism. New York Times (Sep 11, 2018)

Council members agree there should be a focus on re-entry programs for inmates going back into society, decreasing recidivism rates and better managing those who are involved in the legal system. Washington Times (Jul 24, 2019)

The term symbiosis is often used synonymously with mutualism, a relationship in which all partners benefit. Nature (Apr 2, 2019)