Pecksniffian
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Pecksniffian
1850–55; named after Seth Pecksniff, character in Martin Chuzzlewit, a novel (1843) by Dickens; see -ian
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.
With another season underway, suspend your Pecksniffian disapproval of the college football industry’s recent upheavals.
From Washington Post • Sep. 28, 2022
Insults that are banned include "hypocrite", "blackguard" and "Pecksniffian cant", although only Jacob Rees-Mogg would use that last one these days.
From The Guardian • May 26, 2012
He was, after a fashion, a Pecksniffian man, this Henry Ham.
From The Sea Bride by Williams, Ben Ames
Thus was the defendant suddenly revealed as a Pecksniffian Lothario, and his pretence of philanthrophy after was shewn in its true colours.
From Bardell v. Pickwick by Fitzgerald, Percy Hethrington
Of course, one should be cautious here, so as not to seem merely puritanical or Pecksniffian.
From Literature in the Elementary School by MacClintock, Porter Lander
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.
