Definitions
unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
Word origin
From Late Middle English unctuous [and other forms], borrowed from Medieval Latin ūnctuōsus (“greasy, oily, unctuous”), from Latin ūnctum (“ointment; rich banquet; rich savoury dish”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly’ forming adjectives from nouns). Ūnctum is a noun use of the perfect passive participle of unguō (“to anoint; to smear with oil, to grease or oil”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to anoint; to smear”).
Used in a sentence
“It is, of the one part, / A humide exhalation, vvhich vve call / Materia liquida, or the Vnctuous VVater; […]”
“And unctuous meteors from spray to spray / Crept and flitted in broad noon-day / Unseen; […]”
“[H]e took off the lid of the iron pot and there rushed out a savoury smell, while the bubbling sound grew deeper and more rich, and an unctuous steam came floating out, hanging in a delicious mist above their heads— […]”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Oily in manner”8 letters
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