Jesuit

[jezh-oo-it, jez-oo-, jez-yoo-]

noun

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.

adjective

1. of or relating to Jesuits or Jesuitism.

Jesuit

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jesuit¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jesuit¹

C16: from New Latin Jēsuita, from Late Latin Jēsus + -ita _-ite ¹

Example Sentences

Armed with signs reading, “LMU: Back to the table now,” and, “Union busting is not a Jesuit value,” they marched back and forth across Loyola Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times

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

Jesuits in Britain said they made the "difficult decision" to evict Mr Renwick in 2021 after "many attempts to engage with him".

From BBC

We sip and think about the Spanish Jesuit missionaries who filled this spot long before it was a hotel.

From Salon

While he waited, he thought he would get some respite by going to a silent Jesuit retreat in rural Wales.

From BBC