jesuitry means synonym of Jesuitism, (Christianity) the work and beliefs of Jesuits, (derogatory, dated) casuistry, sophistry. It carries an Arena rating of 1373, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, jesuitry ranks #2,251 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,257 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #3,880 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #6,481 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “jesuitry” is a great word
JESUITRY — [Noun] The principles, practices, or character ascribed to the Jesuits, often used derogatorily to imply casuistry or sophistry. From Jesuit (member of the Society of Jesus) + the noun-forming suffix -ry (denoting art, practice, or condition). Unlike casuistry, which names a specific mode of ethical reasoning, or dogmatism, which implies an unyielding rigidity, jesuitry is the stain of perceived intellectual deceit. It is the unsettling precision of a confession that absolves through technicality, the smile that concedes a point while plotting the next syllogistic trap, and the quiet triumph of winning an argument by redefining its terms—the profound suspicion that a mind too finely honed can cut the world to fit its own design.
Etymology
From Jesuit + -ry.
noun
- Synonym of Jesuitism, (Christianity) the work and beliefs of Jesuits, (derogatory, dated) casuistry, sophistry.e.g.“The poor Girondins, many of them, under such fierce bellowing of Patriotism, say Death; justifying, motivant, that most miserable word of theirs by some brief casuistry and jesuitry.” — 1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter VII, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume III (The Guillotine), London: James Fraser, […], →OCLC, book II (Regicide), page 142:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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