oleaginous
adjective
ole·ag·i·nous
ˌō-lē-ˈa-jə-nəs 
1
: resembling or having the properties of oil : oily
also
: containing or producing oil
2
: marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality
oleaginously
adverb
oleaginousness
noun
Did you know?
The oily oleaginous slipped into English via Middle French oleagineux, coming from Latin oleagineus, meaning "of an olive tree." Oleagineus itself is from Latin olea, meaning "olive tree," and ultimately from Greek elaia, meaning "olive." Oleaginous was at first used in a literal sense, as it still can be. An oleaginous substance is simply oily, and an oleaginous plant produces oil. The word took on its extended "ingratiating" sense in the 19th century.
Synonyms
Examples of oleaginous in a Sentence
the office manager greeted the corporate bigwigs with an oleaginous welcome that should have embarrassed him
Recent Examples on the Web
One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them.
—
David Owen, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024
At any moment, the noodles might dissolve, the cheese topping burn, the dish collapse into a soggy, oleaginous mess.
—Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
The interludes make for juicy lampoons of that unfortunate Western export, oleaginous showbiz faux-intimacy.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 21 June 2022
The French state is represented effectively here by oleaginous High Commissioner De Roller (Magimel), a European long based in Tahiti.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 May 2022
After tapping the oleaginous Gaetz, Biden said that crude from the Florida congressman could start flowing throughout the United States by the end of the week.
—Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2021
The same goes for the oleaginous Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), the legal clerk who can worm into people’s brains, as if into their guts, with his show of humility.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2020
And there is the womanizing Mr. Mantalini, whose gift for oleaginous flattery always persuades his long-suffering wife to take him back.
—Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2020
Eggplant sponges up so much olive oil in the traditional caponata recipe that the end result often is a caponata that is cloyingly oleaginous.
—Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 26 June 2019
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David Owen, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024
At any moment, the noodles might dissolve, the cheese topping burn, the dish collapse into a soggy, oleaginous mess.
—Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
The interludes make for juicy lampoons of that unfortunate Western export, oleaginous showbiz faux-intimacy.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 21 June 2022
The French state is represented effectively here by oleaginous High Commissioner De Roller (Magimel), a European long based in Tahiti.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 May 2022
After tapping the oleaginous Gaetz, Biden said that crude from the Florida congressman could start flowing throughout the United States by the end of the week.
—Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2021
The same goes for the oleaginous Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), the legal clerk who can worm into people’s brains, as if into their guts, with his show of humility.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2020
And there is the womanizing Mr. Mantalini, whose gift for oleaginous flattery always persuades his long-suffering wife to take him back.
—Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2020
Eggplant sponges up so much olive oil in the traditional caponata recipe that the end result often is a caponata that is cloyingly oleaginous.
—Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 26 June 2019
Dictionary Entries Near oleaginous
Cite this Entry
“Oleaginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oleaginous. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
oleaginous
adjective
ole·ag·i·nous
ˌō-lē-ˈaj-ə-nəs
: resembling or having the properties of oil
also
: containing or producing oil
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