Unctuous

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈʌnktʃuÉ™s/
• Hyphenation: unc + tu + ous

Origin

From Medieval Latin unctuōsus (“oily”), from Latin unguere, ungere ("to anoint").

Full definition of unctuous

Adjective

1. (of a liquid or fatty substance) Oily or greasy.
• 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, ch. 96:In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties.
2. (of a wine, coffee, etc.) Rich, lush, intense, with layers of concentrated, soft, velvety flavor.
• 1872, Bayard Taylor, Beauty and The Beast; and Tales of Home, ch. 3: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.
3. (by extension, of a person) Profusely polite, especially unpleasantly so and insincerely earnest.
• 1857, Anthony_Trollope, , 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.
• 1919, Stephen Leacock, The Hohenzollerns in America, ch. 8:In superior circles, however, introduction becomes more elaborate, more flattering, more unctuous.

Synonyms

• (of a liquid) oleaginous, saponaceous, slimy
• (of wine, coffee, etc.) savorous
• (profusely, especially unpleasantly, polite) creepy, effusive, groveling, oleaginous, slimy, sycophantic

Derived terms

Related terms