casuist
Americannoun
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an oversubtle or disingenuous reasoner, especially in questions of morality.
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a person who studies and resolves moral problems of judgment or conduct arising in specific situations.
noun
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a person, esp a theologian, who attempts to resolve moral dilemmas by the application of general rules and the careful distinction of special cases
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a person who is oversubtle in his or her analysis of fine distinctions; sophist
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of casuist
1600–10; < Spanish casuista < Latin cāsu ( s ) case 1 + -ista -ist
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.
Beneath the glamorous raiment one can also glimpse the wily casuist who accepts the flimsiest excuse for invading France and courts his future wife knowing he has already won her as a spoil of war.
From Time Magazine Archive
I feel only pity," concluded Stimson, "for the casuist who would dismiss the Nazi leaders because 'they were not warned it was a crime.'
From Time Magazine Archive
Escobar, y Mendoza, was a Spanish casuist, the general tendency of whose writings was to find excuses for human frailties.
From The Browning Cyclop?dia A Guide to the Study of the Works of Robert Browning by Edward Berdoe
"If I know anything about myself I 'm not much of a casuist; I haven't the brains for it," said L'Estrange, with a sad smile.
From The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly by Charles James Lever
This was a home-thrust, and for the moment threw the little casuist off the track.
From The Pearl of Orr's Island A Story of the Coast of Maine by Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
