-ism, -ismus

(Greek, ismos; Latin, ismus: a suffix: belief in, practice of, condition of, process, characteristic behavior or manner, abnormal state, distinctive feature or trait)

ontologism
The doctrine that we have an immediate and certain knowledge of God.
ophidism
Poisoning by, or from, snake venom.
ophiophilism
A fondness for snakes.
ophism
1. Serpent worship or the use of serpents as magical agencies.
2. The doctrine or worship of the Ophites (members of a sect which arose about the 2nd century, who paid reverence to the serpent as an embodiment of divine wisdom).
opiophagism
The oral ingestion of opiates.
opisthognathism
1. Having receding or retreating jaws.
2. Having the mouth parts ventral (situated on or close to the abdomen) and posterior to the cranium (toward or situated at the back of the head).
opiumism
opportunism (s) (noun), opportunisms (pl)
The act of taking advantage of situations or events with no regard for the consequences: The publication of the novel so soon after the scandal was considered by some to be a shameless opportunism.

The opportunism by the football player in grabbing the football pass thrown by the opposing quarterback and running for a goal that won the game for his team was cheered by all of his fellow team members.

optimism (s) (noun), optimisms (pl)
1. The tendency to believe, to expect, or to hope that things will turn out well.
2. The attitude of a person who feels positive or confident about something or someone.
3. A cheerful habit of mind characterized by an inclination to believe that the uncertainties of the present will be resolved favorably.
4. The belief that things are continually getting better and that good will ultimately triumph over evil.
5. Etymology: from 1782, French optimisme (1737), from Modern Latin optimum, used by Leibnitz (in Théodicée, 1710) to mean "the greatest good", from Latin optimus, "the best".
oralism
A system of teaching profoundly deaf people to communicate with the use of speech and lip-reading rather than with sign language.
organism
In biology, a living thing such as a plant, animal, virus, or bacterium.
2. A functioning system of interdependent parts that resembles a living creature.
orientalism
Orientalism
orthodoxism
The quality of being orthodox; orthodoxy.
orthognathism
The characteristic of having non-projecting jaws.