Jesuitic

Jesuitic

English

Alternative forms

• jesuitic
• Jesuitical, jesuitical

Etymology

Compare French jésuitique.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌd͡ʒɛzjuˈɪtɪk/

Adjective

Jesuitic (comparative more Jesuitic, superlative most Jesuitic)

1. Of or relating to the Jesuits, or to their principles and methods.
2. Intricate, casuistic or hair-splitting logical arguments.
3. (derogatory, dated) Cunning; deceitful; crafty.
   • 1682, John Dryden, Religio Laici (Preface)

     they would join in a public act of disowning and detesting those Jesuitic principles

   • 1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, OCLC 1085228267, page 11:

     Their prosperity appeared to prove that honesty after all was not the best policy. What should I do then? How should I begin the jesuitical business of committing evil that good, personal good, might come of it?

See also

• Talmudic – similar to sense #2, in a Jewish context

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for Jesuitic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)

Anagrams

• juiciest