Philosophies (4)

I believe the answer is:

isms

'philosophies' is the definition.
('ism' can be a synonym of 'philosophy')

This is all the clue.

(Other definitions for isms that I've seen before include "Informal doctrines - near miss" , "Informal suffixes for doctrines or practices, confused miss (4)" , "Distinctive doctrines" , "Distinctive theories" , "'Beliefs, philosophies (4)'" .)

I've seen this clue in the New York Times, the Ink Well xwords, the L.A. Times Daily, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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