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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oleaginous
Adjective
-
Yellowish stool can be associated with oily and greasy foods, which should be avoided on GLP-1s.—
Nicole Hernandez,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Glamour contributor Mary Honkus expected this to have an oily consistency, but instead the texture feels thick and silky.—
Danielle Sinay,
Glamour,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For the richest, densest, most unctuous quiche, choose heavy cream.—
Georgeanne Brennan,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Then, there’s Agatha (Wasikowska) dropping into town seemingly from the sky to enact a grand plan involving her estranged family, self-help guru Stafford Weiss (Cusack), and her unctuous showbiz mom (Williams, making the case that Lady Macbeth really could’ve just used a damn cigarette).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Thanks to Epperson’s goal from the front-left side of the crease in the second OT, the Pioneers avoided a sickening taste of déjà vu.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Every repeat viewing of Abraham's performance reveals some new moment of humiliation — some fresh sickening glimmer of anguish that feels all too familiar.—
Devan Coggan,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But all the myth and sorrow around the dynasty mean many takes tilt hagiographic.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The Gracious Visionary is a rather hagiographic film title for one’s life and work.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a lovely, gentle soapy smell throughout the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Wash the carafe and filter basket with warm, soapy water before using the machine again.—
Louise Parks,
Martha Stewart,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Bok globules are abundant throughout all gas-rich and dust-rich galaxies, and can be found in many different locations in our own Milky Way.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
-
But the political red flags are abundant right now for Republicans.—
Craig Gilbert,
jsonline.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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
-
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 31 Mar. 2026.
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