Jesuit

[ jezh-oo-it, jez-oo-, jez-yoo- ]

noun

a member of a Roman Catholic religious order (Society of Jesus ) founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534.
(often lowercase) a crafty, intriguing, or equivocating person: so called in allusion to the methods ascribed to the order by its opponents.

adjective

of or relating to Jesuits or Jesuitism.

Origin of Jesuit

1550–60; <New Latin Jēsuita, equivalent to Latin Jēsu(s) + -ita-ite¹

Other words from Jesuit

an·ti-Jes·u·it, noun, adjective
pro-Jes·u·it, noun, adjective

Words Nearby Jesuit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Jesuit in a sentence

At times, Mario Cuomo seemed to have the humility of a Jesuit and the goals of an emperor.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light | Mike Barnicle | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Not one Argentine Jesuit lost his life during the dirty war, and he managed to save dozens of people.
How Pope Francis Became the World’s BFF | Jason Berry | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“We get to live and work with a group of Jesuit scientists who take both science and faith very seriously,” he writes.
Pope Francis Asked ‘Would You Baptize an Alien?’ Here’s the Answer. | Barbie Latza Nadeau | September 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
One of those was a Jesuit, like the pope, named Rutilio Grande.
Why Pope Francis Wants to Declare Murdered Archbishop Romero a Saint | Christopher Dickey | August 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Francis told reporters that he has not had a true vacation since 1975 when he went to Buenos Aires with the Jesuit community.
Will There Soon Be Three Living Popes? | Barbie Latza Nadeau | August 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

More laborers are needed for the Jesuit missions, as well as for those conducted by the friars.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624 | Various
The experience of the Jesuit fathers at Port Royal is related at length, from their own point of view.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614 | Various
Then follows an account of the life of the Jesuit prisoners, in Virginia and England.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614 | Various
The conclusion is reached that, despite these drawbacks, the Jesuit mission in Canada has made a hopeful beginning.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614 | Various
The Jesuit expatiated on the curse of heaven, which now manifested itself on the head of the Duke in every relation of his life.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for Jesuit

Jesuit

/ (ˈdʒɛzjʊɪt) /

noun

a member of a Roman Catholic religious order (the Society of Jesus) founded by Saint Ignatius Loyola in 1534 with the aims of defending the papacy and Catholicism against the Reformation and to undertake missionary work among the heathen
(sometimes not capital) informal, offensive a person given to subtle and equivocating arguments; casuist

Origin of Jesuit

C16: from New Latin Jēsuita, from Late Latin Jēsus + -ita -ite 1

Derived forms of Jesuit

Jesuitic or Jesuitical, adjective
Jesuitically, adverb

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

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