casuist

[ kazh-oo-ist ]
See synonyms for casuist on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an oversubtle or disingenuous reasoner, especially in questions of morality.

  2. a person who studies and resolves moral problems of judgment or conduct arising in specific situations.

Origin of casuist

1
1600–10; <Spanish casuista<Latin cāsu(s) case1 + -ista-ist

Words Nearby casuist

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How to use casuist in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for casuist

casuist

/ (ˈkæzjʊɪst) /


noun
  1. a person, esp a theologian, who attempts to resolve moral dilemmas by the application of general rules and the careful distinction of special cases

  2. a person who is oversubtle in his or her analysis of fine distinctions; sophist

Origin of casuist

1
C17: from French casuiste, from Spanish casuista, from Latin cāsus case 1

Derived forms of casuist

  • casuistic or casuistical, adjective
  • casuistically, adverb

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