Words at Play : Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

#6: unctuous

Definition:

revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, and false earnestness or spirituality

Example:

"On his way to the batting cage Friday afternoon, [Alex] Rodriguez reverentially tapped the Joe DiMaggio sign – 'I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee' – with his hand. He looked carefree, but who knows what such an unctuous person really feels?" – Tyler Kepner, New York Times, August 9, 2013

About the Word:

Unction can mean "anointment" or it can name something used to anoint, such as a soothing or lubricating oil. That idea of oiliness led to unctuous, which can describe the slickness of false sincerity.

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