unctuous
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Medieval Latin unctuōsus (“oily”), from Latin unguere, ungere (“to anoint”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
unctuous (comparative more unctuous, superlative most unctuous)
- (of a liquid or substance) Oily or greasy.
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1851, Herman Melville, chapter 96, in Moby Dick:
- In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties.
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- (of a wine, coffee, etc.) Rich, lush, intense, with layers of concentrated, soft, velvety flavor.
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1872, Bayard Taylor, chapter 3, in Beauty and The Beast; and Tales of Home:
- The halls and passages of the castle were already permeated with rich and unctuous smells, and a delicate nose might have picked out and arranged, by their finer or coarser vapors, the dishes preparing for the upper and lower tables.
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- (by extension, of a person) Profusely polite, especially unpleasantly so and insincerely earnest.
- 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, Volume the Second, page 14 (ISBN 1857150570)
- Then he thoroughly disliked the tone of Mr. Slope's letter; it was unctuous, false, and unwholesome, like the man.
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1919, Stephen Leacock, chapter 8, in The Hohenzollerns in America:
- In superior circles, however, introduction becomes more elaborate, more flattering, more unctuous.
- 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, Volume the Second, page 14 (ISBN 1857150570)
Synonyms[edit]
- (of a liquid): oleaginous, saponaceous, slimy
- (of wine, coffee, etc.): savorous
- (profusely, especially unpleasantly, polite): creepy, effusive, groveling, oleaginous, slimy, sycophantic
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from unctuous
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
oily or greasy
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profusely polite
Further reading[edit]
- unctuous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- unctuous in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- unctuous at OneLook Dictionary Search
