-ism, -ist, and -ize: Ideas, Followers, Actions

Recognize how three related suffixes turn a root into a belief, a believer, or a process.

Three suffixes, all traced through Latin to Greek, form a family. -ism names a belief, movement, practice, or condition: realism, optimism, nationalism, magnetism. -ist names the person who holds the belief or does the practice: realist, optimist, pianist. -ize makes a verb meaning 'to make or become': modernize, industrialize, criticize. Worked example: 'Industrialization transformed the region. ' Start with industrial, add -ize to get industrialize, 'to make industrial,' then add -ation to turn that action into a noun.

The sentence describes the process of converting the region to factory-based production. Notice that -ism is not always political. Magnetism is a physical force, and a 'witticism' is a clever remark. Read the root first, then decide whether -ism means a belief, a condition, or a characteristic act.

• 1-ism names a belief, practice, or condition.
• 2-ist names the person; -ize makes a verb meaning 'to make.'
• 3Suffixes stack: industrial, industrialize, industrialization.