-ism, -ismus

A philosophy held by some Wikipedians that favors clear and relatively rigorous standards for accepting articles, templates, or other pages to the encyclopedia.

"Wikipedians" who broadly subscribe to this philosophy are likely to request that an article that they believe does not meet such standards be removed, or deleted.

The state of being possessed by a demon or by demons.

A principle or system of a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people: A demonocratism includes the practise of the people exercising the governments power directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

1. A term used to describe the position of governments, political parties, business groups, interest groups, or individuals who reject propositions on which a scientific or scholarly consensus exists: Some firms that are only interested in profits practice denialism when their interests and earnings are in danger of climate change, for example.
2. Choosing to contradict a reality as a way to avoid a disturbing actuality based on an empirically verifiable truth: AIDS denialism describes the disaffirmation of the facts which have been proven by relying on observation and tests.
3. An essentially irrational action that withholds validation of an historical experience or event: There are some people who still today use the term Holocaust denialism to present their views by refusing to admit that this part of the past ever occurred.

Apparently the term denialism is a neologism created by Michael Specter (a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1998) for his book, Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives, published in 2009; Penguin Press; New York; in which Specter reveals that Americans have come to mistrust institutions and especially the institution of science more today than ever before.

Adherence to or advocacy of certain denominational principles or a denominational system; such as, of education.

Emphasis on universal imperatives; such moral laws, duties, obligations, prohibitions, and the like (sometimes also called imperativism).

Deontologism is usually contrasted with teleologism (an emphasis on goals) or consequentialism (an emphasis on results); but sometimes it is also contrasted with egoism or eudaimonism (an emphasis on personal happiness or fulfillment as opposed to conformance with moral imperatives).

A tendency to readily show dermographia or red, white, or black welts on the skin.

A government controlled by an unrestricted authority, especially in a cruel and oppressive way: There have been many countries throughout history where people have existed in despotism, for example when the Germans had Adolf Hitler ruling them with absolute power.

Other names include the following modern dictators who have advocated despotism:

• Joseph Stalin (U.S.S.R or Russia)
• Mao Zedong (Mao Tse Tung) (China)
• Kim Jong-il (North Korea)
• Muammar Al-Gaddafi (Libya)
• Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)
• Plus many others throughout history!

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1. An action aided or caused by the devil: Diabolisms are parts of sorcery, witchcraft and dealings with or possessions of individuals by the devil.
2. A belief in or the worship of devils.
3. An evil character or conduct of a person or people.

1. The existence of a geological feature that transgresses palaeontological zones: An example of diachronism is a great divergence between the lithological and chronological classifications.
2. The existence within a single geologic formation of regions of rock that were laid down at different times: Diachronism can be exemplified by a sea that gradually covered a landmass.

The tendency of a sessile organism (a leaf or flower, that has no stalk but is attached directly to the stem) or structure to grow horizontally to the ground or perpendicularly to the line of gravity: The condition of diageotropism can be seen in tree branches or roots.

Diageotropism can be described as a response of a plant to gravity in which a part of the plant adopts a horizontal position.

Diageotropism can also characterize the tendency of growing parts, such as roots, to become oriented at right angles to the direction of any gravitational force.

A tendency of leaves, or other organs, of plants to have their outer surface facing towards sunlight.

A phenomenon exhibited by materials like copper or bismuth that become magnetized in a magnetic field with a polarity opposite to the magnetic force; unlike iron they are slightly repelled by a magnet.