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
At any moment, the noodles might dissolve, the cheese topping burn, the dish collapse into a soggy, oleaginous mess.
—Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
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
After tapping the oleaginous Gaetz, Biden said that crude from the Florida congressman could start flowing throughout the United States by the end of the week.
—Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2021
The same goes for the oleaginous Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), the legal clerk who can worm into people’s brains, as if into their guts, with his show of humility.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2020
And there is the womanizing Mr. Mantalini, whose gift for oleaginous flattery always persuades his long-suffering wife to take him back.
—Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2020
Eggplant sponges up so much olive oil in the traditional caponata recipe that the end result often is a caponata that is cloyingly oleaginous.
—Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 26 June 2019
David Owen, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024
At any moment, the noodles might dissolve, the cheese topping burn, the dish collapse into a soggy, oleaginous mess.
—Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
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
After tapping the oleaginous Gaetz, Biden said that crude from the Florida congressman could start flowing throughout the United States by the end of the week.
—Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2021
The same goes for the oleaginous Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), the legal clerk who can worm into people’s brains, as if into their guts, with his show of humility.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2020
And there is the womanizing Mr. Mantalini, whose gift for oleaginous flattery always persuades his long-suffering wife to take him back.
—Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2020
Eggplant sponges up so much olive oil in the traditional caponata recipe that the end result often is a caponata that is cloyingly oleaginous.
—Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 26 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oleaginous
Adjective
-
The depigmentation procedure, invented by an oily scientist, becomes extremely popular.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Take it from someone who has bought, sold, found, cleaned, and restored some dusty, oily gems: Your records probably need a good bath.—
Parker Hall,
WIRED,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Those suspects include the bartender (Gabrielle Ryan), a sad sack of a man on a blind date (Reed Diamond), an imperious hostess (Sarah McCormack), and an unctuous, boozy piano player (Ed Weeks).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
10 Mar. 2025
-
The maguey imparts a subtly vegetal flavor, and cooks reserve just enough fat so that each bite of meat is unctuous.—
Edmund Tijerina,
Bon Appétit,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a sickening, satisfying weight behind each strike here, especially with the sprays of blood when Matt repeatedly throws one goon against the wobbling refrigerator.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2025
-
It was announced shortly before Feb. 14, which marked seven years since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland and as our newspapers remain filled with tragic and preventable homicides caused by irresponsible gun owners, this move is sickening.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Stalin willed into being socialist realism, a hagiographic style that crept into art forms like music and painting.—
Joshua Yaffa,
The New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2025
-
This is the same notion that makes this more of a hagiographic portrait than a truly thoughtful biographical film.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
There is just cause for the soapier parts: Manet was married, and Morisot wed his brother.—
Julie Belcove,
Robb Report,
23 Nov. 2024
-
The group that seems to have inspired Reid is Fleetwood Mac, which, with its shifting intramural love relationships, sundry drug problems and issues of control — the soapiest of rock’s many operas — was a romance novel/miniseries waiting to happen.—
Robert LloydTelevision Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2023
Adjective
-
How Is Access To Healthcare In Braga? Access to healthcare is abundant in Braga.—
Kathleen Peddicord,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Today, the black and white birds that live along the southern Ross Sea primarily eat Antarctic silverfish, a small, abundant fish that scientists consider a keystone species.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
There’s no better time to embrace the mushy gushy than in the first few moments after winning gold medals together.—
Meg Linehan,
The Athletic,
10 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Oleaginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oleaginous. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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