unctuous
English
Etymology
2=h₃engʷPlease see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.
Borrowed from Medieval Latin unctuōsus (“oily”), from Latin unctum, from unguere, ungere (“to anoint”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
unctuous (comparative more unctuous, superlative most unctuous)
- (of a liquid or substance) Oily or greasy.
- 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.
- (of a wine, coffee, sauce, gravy etc.) Rich, lush, intense, with layers of concentrated, soft, velvety flavor.
- 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.
- (by extension, of a person) Profusely polite, especially unpleasantly so and insincerely earnest.
- 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, Volume the Second, page 14 →ISBN
- Then he thoroughly disliked the tone of Mr. Slope's letter; it was unctuous, false, and unwholesome, like the man.
- 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
Synonyms
- (of a liquid): oleaginous, saponaceous, slimy; see also Thesaurus:unctuous
- (of wine, coffee, sauce, gravy etc.): savorous
- (profusely, especially unpleasantly, polite): creepy, effusive, groveling, oleaginous, slimy, sycophantic; see also Thesaurus:sycophantic
Derived terms
Related terms
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Translations
oily or greasy
taste: rich, lush, intense
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profusely polite
Further reading
- “unctuous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “unctuous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “unctuous”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.