ISM is derived from the Latin suffix "-ismus" and was originally meant to be the suffix for other words. In modern times, since there are so many of them, it is beginning to be culturally and socially acceptable to use the suffix as a word, when referring to more than one ism. An ism is a state of being (organism), a condition of existence (pragmatism), an act or process of being (baptism), or a characteristic specific to the more general presence of life and life kind (botchilism). Well, actually it can be one or more of those things, or something else entirely. Isms are generally theories of existence or doctrines of living. They can be belief systems that are generally accepted among a social, corporate, educational or religious body. Idealism, Modernism, Socialism, Capitalism, Monotheism, Atheism, NeoPaganism, Conservatism, Liberalism, and Whateverism are all examples of such schools of thought.

Isms can also be forms of art and expression as catalogued throughout human history or prehistory before it. These isms are usually expressed in order to set boundaries in time and space between different artistic interests. They attempt to categorize separate artistic endeavors by the centuries some artists existed, or their geography, or whether they made any money before or after the artist's death. Supposedly the styles of artists inside these ism boundaries have similarities. Close scrutiny of each artistic ism combined with an overall study of art history as a whole shows that there's no real similarities or differences with artists inside a given ism boundary that is any more or less relevant than the similarities or differences between artists of differing isms, and it's all just another example of human beings incessantly pounding square pegs into round holes. Surrealism, Cubism, Minimalism, Expressionism, Impressionism, Fauvism, and Futurism are just a few examples.

Sometimes when the suffix is used for artistic purposes, things can get a bit carried away. Artists, critics, and some intoxicated know-it-alls sometimes make a point about the futility of the overuse of the poor suffix in question, or for no reason other than to displease and confuse the populous at large, if even that. A decade or so ago an art movement known as Neoism achieved fashionable popularity among fringe interests, until it was realized that Neoism just meant "new ism" and really had no cultural significance whatsoever. Neoism did shed light on the fact that no ism has any real cultural significance whatsoever, but no one likes to think about things like that. Such revelations tend to cause headaches. The phrase can also be used, albeit incorrectly, to indicate a list of examples that help to illuminate the existence of a ..well, pretty much anything. This is when the suffix is used to a horrifyingly insane extreme, all to the sheer terror of most english teachers. Pythonisms are quotations from the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus, its related movies and other projects. StarTrekisms are similar lists that focus on the Gene Roddenberry inspired series. Finally, the suffix/word can be used simply to coin a phrase that the original utterer of said phrase wishes to see become a household word. For example, the entire use of this poor suffix who never did anything to anybody anywhere and does not deserve to suffer such indignation is a classic example of stupidism.