Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Hypocritically benevolent; sanctimonious.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Characteristic of or resembling Pecksniff, one of the characters in Dickens's “Martin Chuzzlewit,” characterized by an ostentatious hypocritical display of benevolence or high principle.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Seth Pecksniff, a character in Martin Chuzzlewit, a novel by Charles Dickens.]

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Examples

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • "Pecksniffian," for example, was used by Bill O'Reilly a few times, and his use caused the word to spike in the daily list of words that are looked up online.

    m00t 2007

  • Until I see you even once denounce the shrieky eliminationism that is the stock-in-trade of your political coreligionists -- some examples are compiled here, and there are several more recent ones -- I, for one, can do without your Pecksniffian faux-outrage about a throwaway and self-contradictory Twitter comment.

    Archive 2009-04-01 2009

  • Pecksniffian pretentious pugnacious quixotic sardoodledom sputum subpoena vanity sizing w00t

    Pretentious Pecksniffian Cruft 2007

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