as in smearing
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
anoint the wound with antiseptic to prevent infection
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as in anointment
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Recent Examples of anointing
Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Already, awards prognosticators are anointing it a possible Oscar player in several major categories.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
Fittingly, or desperately depending on your vantage point, Jones’ campaign from three years ago was the only tangible evidence Steichen could lean on while anointing him the starter over Richardson.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The team reached an extension agreement with rookie Roman Anthony, anointing him as their outfielder of the future with an eight-year deal.
—Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
Prosecutors said that instead of seeking medical treatment when their two-day-old son, Hayden, stopped eating and began to turn pale blue, Blair, 37, and Taylor, 32, relied on praying over their son’s body and anointing him with olive oil.
—Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Already, awards prognosticators are anointing it a possible Oscar player in several major categories.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
Fittingly, or desperately depending on your vantage point, Jones’ campaign from three years ago was the only tangible evidence Steichen could lean on while anointing him the starter over Richardson.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The team reached an extension agreement with rookie Roman Anthony, anointing him as their outfielder of the future with an eight-year deal.
—Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anointing
Verb
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After smearing Tylenol, the president's unscripted remarks quickly veered into an incoherent rant linking vaccines to autism as well.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
24 Sep. 2025
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Ciarlo has been a beauty aficionado from her early age of sneaking into her mother's makeup drawer and smearing Joker-esque lipstick on her face.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Bad Bunny’s fame was growing ever more mainstream in the years before his Super Bowl anointment.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At the core of the GOP’s shutdown argument is painting a grim picture of any non-citizen receiving any government benefit.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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But that is a bit like Leonardo Da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa, then letting his mate Dave colour in one of her eyes, but then Dave claims the entire work for his own and takes all the credit for the rest of time.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Before her ordination, Mullally worked as a nurse at hospitals in London, going on to serve as Chief Nursing Officer for England.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
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Prime Video product execs, in co-ordination with the production team, therefore sought to strike a balance between injecting some new, actionable information and creating clutter.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In this recipe, country music star Lainey Wilson draws on her Louisiana roots, rolling the regional sausage into balls before coating them in breadcrumbs and frying until crispy on the outside, but still tender inside.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
1 Oct. 2025
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If Paulson's meltdown about Merrick Garland wasn't cringey enough, Peters coating his face in Cheeto dust and rattling off the President's worst one-liners sure was.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Bank of Japan has commenced with tapering, incrementally selling off its huge investments in ETFs that primed the stock market under Abe, and is signaling incremental interest rate increases.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
4 Oct. 2025
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The new spending reflects efforts by Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa, who was appointed to the top job in May, to recalibrate investments across regions, the people said.—
Gabrielle Coppola,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For more information on what features to look for, visit the induction burner buying guide at BestReviews.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 Sep. 2025
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Even decades after his death in 1997, Biggie’s cultural impact continues to grow, cemented by his 2020 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.—
Christopher Claxton,
Billboard,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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According to Evers' order, the American flag and the Wisconsin state flag will fly at half-staff at all buildings, grounds and military installations belonging to the state of Wisconsin.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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The MasterFrame 600’s factory configuration uses the power supply mounting flange to close off the bottom of the expansion slot panel, so its installation kit includes an adapter plate to close off the same area whenever a builder decides to instead mount its power supply above the motherboard.—
Thomas Soderstrom,
PC Magazine,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Anointing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anointing. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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