casuist
Americannoun
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an oversubtle or disingenuous reasoner, especially in questions of morality.
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a person who studies and resolves moral problems of judgment or conduct arising in specific situations.
noun
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a person, esp a theologian, who attempts to resolve moral dilemmas by the application of general rules and the careful distinction of special cases
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a person who is oversubtle in his or her analysis of fine distinctions; sophist
Other Word Forms
- casuistic adjective
- casuistically adverb
Etymology
Origin of casuist
1600–10; < Spanish casuista < Latin cāsu ( s ) case 1 + -ista -ist
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.
Indeed, for at least a decade, the media landscape has been littered with casuist puff-pieces with headlines like:
From Salon
Good native casuists, on whom I can place every reliance, tell me that possibly this may somehow or other affect the title of the others.
From Project Gutenberg
I see, Madam," said the good prelate, "what the case is: some of your casuists forbid rouge totally; others will permit you to wear as much as you please.
From Project Gutenberg
The boy's reason, for a moment, asserted its own majesty, at the broaching of this wild doctrine; and he returned an instant answer to the preacher which would have confounded a less practised casuist.
From Project Gutenberg
It has however, furnished ample scope for dispute to our casuists and theologians.
From Project Gutenberg
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.
