Jesuit
Americannoun
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Jesuits
plural
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a member of a Roman Catholic religious order Society of Jesus founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534.
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(often lowercase) a crafty, intriguing, or equivocating person: so called in allusion to the methods ascribed to the order by its opponents.
adjective
noun
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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
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informal (sometimes not capital) a person given to subtle and equivocating arguments; casuist
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Jesuit
1550–60; < New Latin Jēsuita, equivalent to Latin Jēsu ( s ) + -ita -ite 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
DeMaio grew up in Orange County, attended a Jesuit school in Maryland and graduated from Georgetown University.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
He was sent to a Catholic boarding school in England, but returned to Ireland as a teenager, where by the age of 18 he had begun studying to be a Jesuit priest.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
He grew up in Kolkata, moving between a convent school and a prestigious Jesuit boys' school where he first discovered music while cleaning instruments in the music room.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
Speaking of football jerseys, Hollins also was carrying one from Walsh Jesuit High School bearing the number 84.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
One of the key groups that spread these teachings was founded in the 1530s: the Jesuit order, a collection of highly trained intellectuals well suited to attack Protestantism.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Yet Mr. Weber showed that Dutch Jesuits deployed the camera obscura as a metaphor in devotional literature and sermons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
He was also the first Jesuit to be elected to the throne of St Peter - Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2025
Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2025
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles turned to the Jesuits to use a corporate work study program employed at a Chicago high school to subsidize Catholic tuition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2024
When this happens, the Jesuits dive under tables or beds for protection.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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