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
ole·ag·i·nous·ness
plural -es
archaic
: the quality or state of being oily
the oleaginousness of urinous spirits—
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
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 of oleaginous
Relevance
Adjective
Examples of oleaginous in a Sentence
Adjective
the office manager greeted the corporate bigwigs with an oleaginous welcome that should have embarrassed him
Recent Examples on the Web
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
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
Ted Cruz, the perennial front-runner, is smug and oleaginous—hated equally by his colleagues and the public.
—
Alex Shephard,
The New Republic,
26 Sep. 2022
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
Trump cheapened the honor into near irrelevance by awarding it to Limbaugh, who died earlier this year, and then, on his way out the door in January, to two of his most oleaginous sycophants in Congress, Rep. Devin Nunes of California and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
—
Eric Zorn,
chicagotribune.com,
22 Apr. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
His widow doesn’t exactly look too broken up; less than a week after his death, Lee spots her snuggling with Dale’s brother Donald, an oleaginous candidate for governor played by Kyle MacLachlan.
—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
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
Ted Cruz, the perennial front-runner, is smug and oleaginous—hated equally by his colleagues and the public.
—
Alex Shephard,
The New Republic,
26 Sep. 2022
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
Trump cheapened the honor into near irrelevance by awarding it to Limbaugh, who died earlier this year, and then, on his way out the door in January, to two of his most oleaginous sycophants in Congress, Rep. Devin Nunes of California and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
—
Eric Zorn,
chicagotribune.com,
22 Apr. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Oleaginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oleaginous. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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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