casuist

[kazh-oo-ist]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR casuist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an oversubtle or disingenuous reasoner, especially in questions of morality.

a person who studies and resolves moral problems of judgment or conduct arising in specific situations.

Origin of casuist

1600–10; < Spanish casuista < Latin cāsu(s) case¹ + -ista -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for casuist

bigot, trickster, impostor, phony, crook, charlatan, cheat, faker, fake, decoy, actor, mountebank, informer, malingerer, pretender, poser, quack, humbug, fraud, hook

Examples from the Web for casuist

Historical Examples of casuist

The names of two jesuits, the former a famous preacher, and the other as famous a casuist.
Ebrietatis Encomium
Boniface Oinophilus
Henry, however, was a casuist concerned exclusively with his own case.
Henry VIII.
A. F. Pollard
In all that comes between, every man must be his own casuist.
A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I (of II)
Augustus De Morgan
The best source, at least for Europeans, is still the casuist writings.
The Natural Philosophy of Love
Remy de Gourmont
"Pooh, she didn't—she only nodded—nodding isn't a lie," a casuist scoffed.
The Story of Louie
Oliver Onions

British Dictionary definitions for casuist

casuist

noun

a person, esp a theologian, who attempts to resolve moral dilemmas by the application of general rules and the careful distinction of special cases

a person who is oversubtle in his or her analysis of fine distinctions; sophist

Derived Formscasuistic or casuistical, adjectivecasuistically, adverb

Word Origin for casuist

C17: from French casuiste, from Spanish casuista, from Latin cāsus case 1

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

Word Origin and History for casuist

c.1600, "one who studies and resolves cases of conscience," from French casuiste (17c.) or Spanish casuista (the French word also might be from Spanish), Italian casista, all from Latin casus (see case (n.1)) in its Medieval Latin sense "case of conscience." Often since 17c. in a sinister or contemptuous sense. Related: Casuistic; casuistical; casuistically; casuistry.

Casuistry ... destroys, by distinctions and exceptions, all morality, and effaces the essential difference between right and wrong. [Bolingbroke, 1736]