Jesuitical
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Jesuits or Jesuitism.
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(often lowercase) practicing casuistry or equivocation; using subtle or oversubtle reasoning; crafty; sly; intriguing.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Jesuitical
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.
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 • Dec. 13, 2023
These working-class folks seemed puzzled by Brown’s Jesuitical enviro-hipster act, but they cheered anyway, as instructed.
From Washington Post • May 7, 2020
The coach knows that such Jesuitical distinctions are unlikely to appease a football nation that is hungry for its first tournament win since 1996.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2014
Reagan’s quip lumped together groups whom scholars have recently labored to distinguish, often with Jesuitical precision.
From Scientific American • Jun. 27, 2011
One was reminded of Pascal's attacks on the Jesuits—only that this time the wit and power were on the side which might fairly be called Jesuitical.
From Modern Leaders: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches by McCarthy, Justin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
