Spanish words ending in -ismo (from English -ism)
Every English -ism has a Spanish -ismo: tourism → turismo, optimism → optimismo, capitalism → capitalismo. Learn it alongside -ista and you get the movement and the member for the price of one root.
How the rule works
- All masculine: el turismo, el optimismo.
- Plural is -ismos, though many of these nouns are rarely pluralised.
- Stress falls on the -is-: tu-RIS-mo.
- The matching person ends in -ista: optimismo → optimista.
Start with these
- tourism → turismo
- mechanism → mecanismo
- racism → racismo
- terrorism → terrorismo
- journalism → periodismo
- autism → autismo
Every verified word in this family (169)
Each pair below was checked on both sides: the Spanish word exists in a spell-checker and a frequency list, and the meaning was cross-checked rather than assumed from the spelling. Tap 🔊 to hear it.
- absolutism→absolutismo
- activism→activismo
- africanism→africanismo
- alarmism→alarmismo
- albinism→albinismo
- alcoholism→alcoholismo
- altruism→altruismo
- americanism→americanismo
- anarchism→anarquismoLatin anarchia
- anglicanism→anglicanismo
- animism→animismo
- antagonism→antagonismo
- astigmatism→astigmatismo
- atavism→atavismo
- autism→autismoAncient Greek autós ‘self’
- automatism→automatismo
- baptism→bautismoLatin baptismus
- barbarism→barbarismo
- brahmanism→brahmanismo
- calvinism→calvinismo
- capitalism→capitalismoLatin capitālis
- catabolism→catabolismo
- centralism→centralismo
- charlatanism→charlatanismo
- chauvinism→chauvinismo
- clericalism→clericalismo
- colonialism→colonialismo
- communism→comunismoFrench communisme
- conformism→conformismo
- confucianism→confucianismo
- conservatism→conservadurismo
- constructivism→constructivismo
- consumerism→consumismo
- cretinism→cretinismo
- cubism→cubismo
- cultism→cultismo
- cynicism→cinismoLatin cynismus
- darwinism→darwinismo
- despotism→despotismo
- determinism→determinismo
- docetism→docetismo
- dogmatism→dogmatismo
- druidism→druidismo
- dualism→dualismo
- eclecticism→eclecticismo
- egoism→egoísmo
- egotism→egotismo
- electromagnetism→electromagnetismo
- elitism→elitismo
- ergotism→ergotismo
- exorcism→exorcismo
- expansionism→expansionismo
- extremism→extremismo
- fascism→fascismoLatin fascis
- fatalism→fatalismo
- federalism→federalismoLatin foedus
- feminism→feminismo
- feudalism→feudalismo
- formalism→formalismo
- fundamentalism→fundamentalismo
- futurism→futurismo
- galvanism→galvanismo
- germanism→germanismo
- gigantism→gigantismo
- gnosticism→gnosticismo
- hedonism→hedonismo
- heroism→heroísmo
- hinduism→hinduismo
- hirsutism→hirsutismo
- historicism→historicismo
- humanism→humanismo
- idealism→idealismo
- imperialism→imperialismo
- individualism→individualismo
- industrialism→industrialismo
- infantilism→infantilismo
- islamism→islamismo
- jansenism→jansenismo
- journalism→periodismoLatin periodicus
- judaism→judaísmo
- leninism→leninismo
- liberalism→liberalismo
- localism→localismo
- magnetism→magnetismo
- maoism→maoísmo
- marxism→marxismo
- materialism→materialismo
- mechanism→mecanismoLatin mechanismus
- mendelism→mendelismo
- mercantilism→mercantilismo
- mesmerism→mesmerismo
- metabolism→metabolismoAncient Greek metabolḗ
- militarism→militarismo
- minimalism→minimalismo
- modernism→modernismo
- mongolism→mongolismo
- monism→monismo
- mormonism→mormonismo
- multiculturalism→multiculturalismo
- mutism→mutismo
- mutualism→mutualismo
- mysticism→misticismoLatin mysticus
- narcissism→narcisismo
- nationalism→nacionalismo
- naturalism→naturalismo
- naturism→naturismo
- nazism→nazismo
- neoliberalism→neoliberalismo
- neologism→neologismo
- nepotism→nepotismo
- nihilism→nihilismo
- nomadism→nomadismo
- obscurantism→obscurantismo
- onanism→onanismo
- optimism→optimismoLatin optimus
- organism→organismoEnglish organism
- orientalism→orientalismo
- ostracism→ostracismo
- pacifism→pacifismo
- paganism→paganismo
- papism→papismo
- parasitism→parasitismo
- patriotism→patriotismo
- pluralism→pluralismo
- populism→populismo
- positivism→positivismo
- pragmatism→pragmatismo
- protagonism→protagonismo
- protestantism→protestantismo
- provincialism→provincialismo
- pugilism→pugilismo
- purism→purismo
- puritanism→puritanismo
- racism→racismoLatin radia, from radius
- radicalism→radicalismo
- realism→realismo
- reformism→reformismo
- regionalism→regionalismo
- relativism→relativismo
- republicanism→republicanismo
- revisionism→revisionismo
- ritualism→ritualismo
- romanism→romanismo
- romanticism→romanticismo
- satanism→satanismo
- semitism→semitismo
- sentimentalism→sentimentalismo
- separatism→separatismo
- sexism→sexismo
- skepticism→escepticismo
- socialism→socialismo
- solecism→solecismo
- solipsism→solipsismo
- sufism→sufismo
- surrealism→surrealismo
- symbolism→simbolismoLatin symbolum
- taoism→taoísmo
- terrorism→terrorismoLatin terror
- tourism→turismoEnglish tourism
- traumatism→traumatismo
- tropism→tropismo
- urbanism→urbanismo
- vampirism→vampirismo
- vandalism→vandalismo
- veganism→veganismo
- vegetarianism→vegetarianismo
- vitalism→vitalismo
- vulcanism→vulcanismo
- vulgarism→vulgarismo
FAQ
Are there Spanish -ismo words English does not have?
Plenty, and they are usually transparent once you see the root — machismo travelled the other way and entered English intact.
Do the vowels ever shift?
Occasionally the stem does: tourism → turismo loses the English ou. The ending itself is completely regular.
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