unctuous
3
9.7
- adjective
- /ˈʌŋk.tʃəs/
:
untuoso
- Though he rarely spoke to his wife or son, he was unfailingly polite to customers—unctuous, David thought.
- unctuous voice
- unctuous smile
- unctuous tone
Examples
-
What possible excuse can you give us for wasting our time with that unctuous stream of drivel that you call a presentation?
-
The unctuous voice, the complacent gesture, made Billy Doud seem asinine.
Fiction book (1994) -
His tone was even more unctuous and professional.
Fiction book (1994) -
"May I intrude?" he asked in an unctuous voice.
Fiction book (1998) -
Do we really need one more unctuous backslapper in our nation's capital?
Blog text (26) -
"As you see," Jasper Perry explained in rather unctuous tones, "we are small in number, but not in courage."
Fiction book (1992) -
The Reverend Hananan is unctuous, smooth, and eloquent; he believes his own bullshit.
Fiction book (1998) -
Two shot: Saks is unctuous and insincere, self-confident.
Fiction book (1995) -
"Yes, First Sergeant," the miscreants intoned with unctuous sincerity.
Fiction book (1992) -
His unctuous flattery made everyone uncomfortable at the meeting.
Synonyms
12
8.1
Too polite and friendly in a way that does not seem real
7
6.7
Too smooth and pleasant in a way that seems false
3
9.3
Too much praise that sounds false and makes people uncomfortable
1
7.9
Talking in a smooth, not sincere way to seem friendly
1
7.1
Trying to please others with smooth words that are not sincere
1
9.9
Too smooth and friendly in a fake, unpleasant way
Antonyms
Compounds
1
9.8
Trying too hard to please others by being polite and friendly in a way that does not seem honest
How Insincere
- Formal
4
9.2
3
9.7
- Formal
7
9.3
1
7.3
57
4.2
239
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
unctuous = unct + ous
The adjective is built with the productive suffix '-ous', but the root 'unct' is not a recognizable modern English word, so learners cannot derive the meaning from known components.
Etymology
The word unctuous comes from an old Latin verb ungere, meaning 'to anoint' or rub with 'oil', and it shares the same root as the English verb anoint. Imagine someone who seems 'oily' in their manner, too smooth and false, and that is why unctuous now means overly flattering and insincere.