3 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Unctuous \Unc"tu*ous\ (?; 135), adjective [F. onctueux, LL. unctuosus,
fr. L. unctus anointment, fr. ungere, unctum, to anoint. See
{Unguent}.]
1. Of the nature or quality of an unguent or ointment; fatty;
oily; greasy. ''The unctuous cheese.'' --Longfellow.
2. Having a smooth, greasy feel, as certain minerals.
3. Bland; suave; also, tender; fervid; as, an unctuous
speech; sometimes, insincerely suave or fervid.
-- {Unc"tu*ous*ly}, adverb --
{Unc"tu*ous*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
unctuous
adjective
1: unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner
or speech; "buttery praise"; "gave him a fulsome
introduction"; "an oily sycophantic press agent";
"oleaginous hypocrisy"; "smarmy self-importance"; "the
unctuous Uriah Heep" [syn: {buttery}, {fulsome}, {oily},
{oleaginous}, {smarmy}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
84 Moby Thesaurus words for "unctuous":
Pecksniffian, Tartuffian, Tartuffish, adipose, adulatory, affected,
bland, blandishing, blarneying, blubbery, buttery, butyraceous,
cajoling, canting, chrismal, chrismatory, complimentary,
courtierly, courtly, disarming, fair-spoken, false, fat, fatty,
fawning, fine-spoken, flattering, fulsome, glib, goody,
goody-goody, greasy, gushing, holier-than-thou, honey-mouthed,
honey-tongued, honeyed, hypocritic, hypocritical, ingratiating,
insincere, insinuating, lardaceous, lardy, mealymouthed, mucoid,
obsequious, oily, oily-tongued, oleaginous, oleic, pharisaic,
pharisean, pietistic, pious, rich, sanctified, sanctimonious,
sebaceous, self-righteous, simon-pure, sleek, slick, slimy,
slippery, slobbery, smarmy, smooth, smooth-spoken, smooth-tongued,
smug, sniveling, soapy, soft-soaping, soft-spoken, suave,
suave-spoken, suety, sycophantic, tallowy, unguent, unguentary,
unguentous, wheedling