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Glite Dictionary
🧼 Like soap 😏 Too smooth
soapy

soapy

1 7.1
Trying to please others with smooth words that are not sincere
  • adjective
  • /ˈsoʊpi/
translation icon : untuoso
  • His soapy compliments made it hard to trust his genuine feelings.

Examples

  • A few Hallmark bromides about creativity wrapped in a soapy plot and garnished with a prose style as nuanced in its impact as a bowling ball launched from the fiftieth floor.

    Blog text (5)

  • The politician's soapy rhetoric failed to convince the audience of his sincerity.

  • Maybe it's just me, but I just too soapy for me.

  • OK, soapy, but a different type of soapy than this one.

  • Those town tomatoes taste soapy to me.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • That's about as soapy as it gets, folks.

    Blog text (14)

  • "Tastes soapy," I objected.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Nashville could find a core of genuine drama amidst its soapy subplots that could make it worth watching.

    Blog text (10)

  • He extends a soapy hand to Sal, and they shake. Salvatore (in English)

    Fiction book (1991)

  • She had a soapy manner that charmed many, but few could see through it.

Synonyms

smarmy
vssoapy
  • Informal
12 8.1

Too polite and friendly in a way that does not seem real

is similar but focuses more on unpleasant smoothness than false politeness
oily
vssoapy
7 6.7

Too smooth and pleasant in a way that seems false

is slightly less blatantly slick and more metaphorical in tone
unctuous
vssoapy
3 9.7

A person who gives too many fake compliments to try to please people

is similar but often highlights smooth politeness rather than warm sincerity
fulsome
vssoapy
  • Formal
3 9.3

Too much praise that sounds false and makes people uncomfortable

is narrower, focusing on smooth ingratiation rather than broad lavishness
buttery
vssoapy
1 7.9

Talking in a smooth, not sincere way to seem friendly

is similar but often carries an implied slippery feel rather than mere charm
oleaginous
vssoapy
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Too smooth and friendly in a fake, unpleasant way

is much the same but sometimes feels less obviously fake

Antonyms

honesty
365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

genuineness
3 4.0

The state of being real and sincere

How Insincere

unctuous
3 9.7
smarmy
  • Informal
12 8.1
soapy
1 7.1
suave
18 7.1
smooth
116 4.4

Surface Forms

soapy positive

Morphology

soapy = soap (semi-transparent) = soap + y

The sense is a figurative extension from the literal 'smooth/slippery' quality of soap to 'unctuous or ingratiating' manner, so the derivation is partly inferable but requires pragmatic knowledge.

Etymology

Soapy is also used for a person's words or manner when they are too smooth and not sincere. Think of soap making a surface smooth and slippery, so a 'soapy' compliment slides over real feeling, which is why it can mean 'pleasant but not sincere'.