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oleaginous. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
oleaginous, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
oleaginous in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from French oléagineux, borrowed from Medieval Latin oleāginōsus (“oily”), from olea (“the olive tree or its fruit”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
oleaginous (comparative more oleaginous, superlative most oleaginous)
- Oily, greasy.
- Synonyms: oily, sebaceous, unctuous
1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. , London: J H for H Mortlock , and J Robinson , →OCLC:[…] the use of Linseed-oyl, Tar, or such oleaginous Matter, tends much to their Preservation and Duration.
1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine:Looking back, it seemed to me that a slight oleaginous mist was still hovering round the chair.
2000, Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde, page 677:His once-black hair had faded to the color of used steel wool and now covered his bony skull in a peculiar oleaginous fuzz.
- (of manner or speech) Falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave.
- Synonyms: fulsome, smarmy, unctuous
The oleaginous salesman convinced me to buy a more expensive car.
2015 November 1, Hendrik Hertzberg, “That G.O.P. Debate: Two Footnotes”, in The New Yorker:Cruz was obviously analogizing Bernie Sanders to the Bolsheviks and Hillary Clinton to the Mensheviks. The oleaginous Texan is an erudite slyboots, but his history is off-kilter.
2023 January 11, Peter Bradshaw, “Tár review – Cate Blanchett is perfect lead in delirious, sensual drama”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:She runs a mentoring scholarship programme for women, administered by a tiresome, oleaginous would-be conductor, played by Mark Strong, and there are rumours that this is a source of young women with whom Tár has affairs.
Translations
falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave