Pecksniffian

[ pek-snif-ee-uhn ]

adjective(often lowercase)
  1. hypocritically and unctuously affecting benevolence or high moral principles.

Origin of Pecksniffian

1
1850–55; named after Seth Pecksniff, character in Martin Chuzzlewit, a novel (1843) by Dickens; see -ian
  • Sometimes Peck·sniff·ish .

Other words from Pecksniffian

  • Peck·sniff·er·y, Peck·sniff·i·an·ism, Peck·sniff·ism, noun

Words Nearby Pecksniffian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Pecksniffian in a sentence

  • Of course, one should be cautious here, so as not to seem merely puritanical or Pecksniffian.

    Literature in the Elementary School | Porter Lander MacClintock
  • He was, after a fashion, a Pecksniffian man, this Henry Ham.

    The Sea Bride | Ben Ames Williams
  • He posed as the Pecksniffian leader of Reform and the reform he advocated always meant the lash for the man who toils.

    The Fall of a Nation | Thomas Dixon
  • At all events, Philadelphia is the most Pecksniffian of American cities, and thus probably leads the world.

    The American Language | Henry L. Mencken
  • Piety was certainly hers, in a Pecksniffian sense, but the commercial instinct leavened the loaf.

    Wanted: A Cook | Alan Dale

British Dictionary definitions for Pecksniffian

Pecksniffian

/ (pɛkˈsnɪfɪən) /


adjective
  1. affecting benevolence or high moral principles

Origin of Pecksniffian

1
C19: after Seth Pecksniff, character in Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit (1843)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012