Jesuit

American  

[jezh-oo-it, jez-oo-, jez-yoo-] / ˈdʒɛʒ u ɪt, ˈdʒɛz u-, ˈdʒɛz ju- /

noun

Jesuits plural

1. a member of a Roman Catholic religious order Society of Jesus founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534.

2. (often lowercase) a crafty, intriguing, or equivocating person: so called in allusion to the methods ascribed to the order by its opponents.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Jesuits or Jesuitism.

Jesuit British  

/ ˈdʒɛzjʊɪt /

noun

1. 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

2. informal (sometimes not capital) a person given to subtle and equivocating arguments; casuist

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Jesuit
  noun
• pro-Jesuit
  noun
• Jesuitic
  adjective
• Jesuitically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Jesuits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Jesuit

1550–60; < New Latin Jēsuita, equivalent to Latin Jēsu ( s ) + -ita -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Jesuit High, an all-boys Catholic school, has a strong college prep program along with a history of sending players to Division 1 programs and even the NFL.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

This insight reminds me of a Lenten devotional piece by Jesuit Rick Ganz, who discloses what motivates repentance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 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

Powe’s relatives belonged to the Knights, named for a 17th century Spanish Jesuit who ministered to enslaved people in Colombia and is the country’s patron saint.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2025

As the cemetery was emptying, I waited until Nazario and Vera had embraced the Jesuit and whomever else they were continuing to fool.

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez