pecksniffish

- 2 dictionary results

Peck⋅sniff⋅i⋅an

[pek-snif-ee-uh

–adjective (often lowercase

)

hypocritically and unctuously affecting benevolence or high moral principles.

Also, Peck⋅sniff⋅ish.

Origin:
1850–55; named after Seth Pecksniff, character in Martin Chuzzlewit, a novel (1843) by Dickens; see -ian

Related forms:

Peck⋅sniff⋅er⋅y, Peck⋅sniff⋅i⋅an⋅ism, Peck⋅sniff⋅ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

Pecksniffian

1851, after Mr. Pecksniff, unctuous hypocrite in Dickens' "Martin Chuzzlewit" (1844).

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