as in oily
overly or insincerely flattering
the office manager greeted the corporate bigwigs with an oleaginous welcome that should have embarrassed him
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Recent Examples of oleaginous
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oleaginous
Adjective
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They are also known for their thick, oily fur that stays dry in the rain.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The same products that work for oily skin won't work as well for dry skin, so choose a product tailored to your skin type.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
When coitus occurs, it’s scored by unctuous music.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
-
In its equilibrium, a good tomato sandwich is juicy and unctuous and appropriately messy, which is praise all-too-often reserved for hot sandwiches like cheesesteaks or patty melts.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
18 July 2025
Adjective
-
To come in and have [designers] fight over my Polaroid would be so sickening, or even a judge on the show.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Man arrested for sickening act at Charlie Kirk memorial outside Turning Point HQ MAJOR HEADLINES PARTY POWERPLAY – Zohran Mamdani lands key endorsement in New York City mayoral race.—
,
FOXNews.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Eschewing the polished, hagiographic style of many contemporary making-of documentaries, Figgis keeps his footprint small and his perspective immediate.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
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Years of hagiographic media coverage and his immense social-media reach birthed legions of fanboys and nurtured a cult of personality.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
28 July 2025
Adjective
-
Patricia Clarkson has joined the second season of Ransom Canyon, the soapy Netflix western that has started production in New Mexico.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The soapy musical drama premiered on ABC in 2012.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
When an electrical current is applied, lithium ions pass through the barrier while other abundant elements—such as sodium, calcium and magnesium—are left behind.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
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The majority of it is fructose (a sugar most abundant in many fruits), followed by glucose, with lesser amounts of sucrose and other sugars.—
Merve Ceylan,
Health,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Social Security Administration sent a gushy, questionable email July 4 to millions of people collecting Social Security benefits and others.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
21 July 2025
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The chatter has only grown in recent days, after Ms. Anderson — who just celebrated a birthday — posted a story on her Instagram account, showing a lavish bouquet of flowers and a gushy card from an admirer.—
Jesse McKinley,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Oleaginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oleaginous. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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