casuistry

[kazh-oo-uh-stree]

See more synonyms for casuistry on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural cas·u·ist·ries.

specious, deceptive, or oversubtle reasoning, especially in questions of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principles; sophistry.
the application of general ethical principles to particular cases of conscience or conduct.

Origin of casuistry

First recorded in 1715–25; casuist + -ry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for casuistry

lie, chicanery, deception, evasion, delusion, trick, equivocation, sophistry, speciousness, sophism, fallacy, deceptiveness

Examples from the Web for casuistry

Contemporary Examples of casuistry

The responses were telling in their casuistry, their amorality, their evasiveness.
The Hearing From Hell
Tunku Varadarajan
April 27, 2010
These questions will not be easily dodged; nor will the faithful be placated by casuistry or platitudes.
Leave the Pope Alone
Tunku Varadarajan
April 4, 2010

Historical Examples of casuistry

His spirit is the opposite of that of Jesuitism or casuistry (Wallace).
Sophist
Plato
And then she delivered herself of an amazing piece of casuistry.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini
"I have no leisure for casuistry, nor is it my humor, sir," replied he angrily.
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
And now I have said more than I had intended on a question of casuistry.
Apologia Pro Vita Sua
John Henry Cardinal Newman
There might be some casuistry in that, but there was truth as well.
A Little Girl in Old Salem
Amanda Minnie Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for casuistry

casuistry

noun plural -ries

philosophy the resolution of particular moral dilemmas, esp those arising from conflicting general moral rules, by careful distinction of the cases to which these rules apply
reasoning that is specious, misleading, or oversubtle

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