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Jesuitical

American  
[jezh-oo-it-i-kuhl, jez-oo-, jez-yoo-] / ˌdʒɛʒ uˈɪt ɪ kəl, ˌdʒɛz u-, ˌdʒɛz ju- /
Also Jesuitic

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


Etymology

Origin of Jesuitical

First recorded in 1590–1600; Jesuit + -ical


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.

See Examples For:

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 week I was engaged upon designs for the most advanced Catholic and Jesuitical manuals, and the next upon similar work for a Protestant prayer-book.

From The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 by Harry Furniss

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