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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: 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
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