Jesuitical

Also Jes·u·it·ic

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

adjective

1. of or relating to Jesuits or Jesuitism.

2. (often lowercase),  practicing casuistry or equivocation; using subtle or oversubtle reasoning; crafty; sly; intriguing.

Other Word Forms

• Jesuitically adverb
• anti-Jesuitic adjective
• anti-Jesuitical adjective
• anti-Jesuitically adverb
• pro-Jesuitic adjective
• pro-Jesuitical adjective
• pro-Jesuitically adverb
• un-Jesuitic adjective
• un-Jesuitical adjective
• un-Jesuitically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jesuitical¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; Jesuit + -ical

Example Sentences

We can wax Jesuitical about the differences between saying Harris will “destroy” the country and saying that Trump is a “threat to democracy.”

From Los Angeles Times

Frank Pembleton, upright, intense, intellectual, philosophical, confrontational, Jesuitical, “legendary” within the world of the show, he was the series’ gravitational center, a brilliant detective and a psychologically acute interrogator.

From Los Angeles Times

Given that the Catholic tradition has always made a show of scholarly erudition, and that Jesuitical training has its advantages in the cut-and-thrust of debate, Catholic apologists have won the conservative idea war by default.

From Salon

These working-class folks seemed puzzled by Brown’s Jesuitical enviro-hipster act, but they cheered anyway, as instructed.

From Washington Post

Ironically, he cited the phrase “Jesuitical casuistry” in his argument, apparently unaware that he was employing it.

From Washington Post