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Definition of "oleaginous" []

  • Of or relating to oil. (adjective)
  • Falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous: oleaginous flattery. See Synonyms at unctuous. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "oleaginous" in a sentence
  • "Amanda Platell, in the Daily Mail, wrote of the "tawdry, inexorable decline of Hugh Grant" whom she described as an "oleaginous, womanising lounge lizard"."
  • "New York Times columnist Frank Rich wrote, "If the word oleaginous didn't exist, someone would have to invent it to describe Rahm Emanuel." called him "arrogant, rash and power hungry" and described how he once "sent a rotting fish to a former coworker with whom he had parted ways.""
  • "Funny, isn't it, how Coulter drops ridiculous constructions like "oleaginous", but doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word "specious"."