Meanings
suffix
- Used to form an adjective meaning "action, process, result, or ideology" from adjectives and nouns ending in -ary.
unitary + -arism → unitarism (“belief in centralization”)
3 more examples
sectary + -arism → sectarism (“adherence to a particular sect”)
sedentary + -arism → sedentarism (“habit of being sedentary”)
tertiary + -arism → tertiarism (“state of being tertiary”)
Origin
By surface analysis, -ar(y) + -ism.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
-arism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-arism
MLA
“-arism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-arism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-arism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-arism.
Source: -arism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.