anoint

verb

\ ə-ˈnȯint

anointed; anointing; anoints

Definition of anoint

1 : to smear or rub with oil or an oily substance

2a : to apply oil to as part of a religious ceremony The priest anointed the sick.

b : to choose by or as if by divine election anoint him as his successor also : to designate as if by a ritual anointment Critics have anointed her as an important new literary figure.

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Examples of anoint in a Sentence

The magazine anointed her the most popular actress of the year. anoint the wound with antiseptic to prevent infection

Recent Examples on the Web

Pelosi’s successor should probably be someone with experience in leadership, which means moving to anoint someone younger than Hoyer and Clyburn as heir apparent. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "House Democrats don’t need a leader, they need someone to represent them on TV," 20 Nov. 2018 The Lily Font, which has been used at the christenings of all royal family newborns since 1840, will be used to hold water from the River Jordan to anoint his royal head. — Melissa Locker, Time, "Here's One Royal Tradition You Won't Be Following. Everyone’s Eating 7-Year-Old Cake at Prince Louis’s Christening," 9 July 2018 Almost no one had more pressure on him in the men’s event than Nathan Chen, anointed this season as a gold medal favorite and the Next Big Thing in American skating. — Chris Schleicher, Time, "Let This Figure Skater Turned Comedy Writer Guide You Through the Olympics Men’s Skating Competition," 16 Feb. 2018 He was anointed a five-star recruit and rated the fifth-best player in the nation by 247Sports, sixth-best by ESPN. — Jayda Evans, The Seattle Times, "‘He’s the future of basketball’: Federal Way’s Jaden McDaniels has become one of the best in nation," 20 Feb. 2019 Da Silva has portrayed himself as a political prisoner and has resisted pressure from some in the party to anoint a successor who can be on the ballot. — Ernesto Londoño, BostonGlobe.com, "Judge orders Brazil to release ex-president," 8 July 2018 But if this week’s talks progress, Mr. Liu himself is expected to follow up with a trip to Washington to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, anointed by Mr. Trump as the lead negotiator with China. — Lingling Wei, WSJ, "U.S. Pushes China to Follow Through on Trade Promises," 7 Jan. 2019 The film is a largely cinema verité study of a pressure cooker world flush with ultra-rich buyers, high-on-the-hog middlemen, and artists anointed with the Midas touch. — Julia Felsenthal, Vogue, "The Price of Everything,," 18 Oct. 2018 Brown still needs to develop that trust before he’s anointed the starter. — Jeff Zrebiec, baltimoresun.com, "Ravens news, notes and opinions on right tackle competition, Crockett Gillmore, next week's OTAs," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anoint.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.