Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "unctuous" []

  • Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness: "the unctuous, complacent court composer who is consumed with envy and self-loathing” ( Rhoda Koenig). (adjective)
  • Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery. (adjective)
  • Containing or composed of oil or fat. (adjective)
  • Abundant in organic materials; soft and rich: unctuous soil. (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 "unctuous" in a sentence
  • "The staff in unctuous to regulars and condescending to those of us who still dress as if we lived in Seattle."
  • "Now, I don't know if my unctuous is the same as your unctuous, you know, so - but it came out great."
  • "Everyone will recall the unctuous Walter Cronkite, a man with a face only a nation could love, interviewing an out-of-control Mayor Richard J. Daley, a man with a face that during that convention a whole nation came to loathe."