Dictionary

oleaginous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌəʊ.lɪˈæd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəs/ (UK)
• /ˌoʊ.liˈæd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəs/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from French oléagineux, borrowed from Medieval Latin oleāginōsus (“oily”), from olea (“the olive tree or its fruit”).

Meanings

1. Oily, greasy.
   • Looking back, it seemed to me that a slight oleaginous mist was still hovering round the chair. 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine:
   • […] the use of Linseed-oyl, Tar, or such oleaginous Matter, tends much to their Preservation and Duration. 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
   • His once-black hair had faded to the color of used steel wool and now covered his bony skull in a peculiar oleaginous fuzz. 2000, Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde, page 677:
2. (of manner or speech) Falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave.
   • Cruz was obviously analogizing Bernie Sanders to the Bolsheviks and Hillary Clinton to the Mensheviks. The oleaginous Texan is an erudite slyboots, but his history is off-kilter. 2015 November 1, Hendrik Hertzberg, “That G.O.P. Debate: Two Footnotes”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 20 Mar 2016:
   • The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America’s most repulsive public figure. 2018 May 9, George F. Will, “Trump is no longer the worst person in government”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 11 Jul 2018:
   • The oleaginous salesman convinced me to buy a more expensive car.
   • She runs a mentoring scholarship programme for women, administered by a tiresome, oleaginous would-be conductor, played by Mark Strong, and there are rumours that this is a source of young women with whom Tár has affairs. 2023 January 11, Peter Bradshaw, “Tár review – Cate Blanchett is perfect lead in delirious, sensual drama”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2023:

Forms

Deriveds

oleaginicity · nonoleaginous · oleaginousness · oleaginously

Synonyms

smarmy · sebaceous · fulsome · unctuous · unctuous · oily

Translations (33)

nl oliehoudend (oily, greasy) · fr oléagineux (oily, greasy) · pl oleisty (oily, greasy) · it oleaginoso (oily, greasy) · nl zalvend (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · de ölig (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · fi lipevä (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · fa چربزبان (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · sv sliskig (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · es oleaginoso (oily, greasy) · pt oleaginoso (oily, greasy) · bg маслен (oily, greasy) · la oleāginōsus (oily, greasy) · ru елейный (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · ca afalagador (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · fi öljyinen (oily, greasy) · pl tłusty (oily, greasy) · fr oléagineux (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · izh lippiä (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · nl gladjakkerig (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · es empalagoso (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · de schmierig (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · cs olejnatý (oily, greasy) · de ölig (oily, greasy) · it untuoso (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · nl olierijk (oily, greasy) · ca oleaginós (oily, greasy) · pl obłudny (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · ro oleaginos (oily, greasy) · bg мазен (falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave) · ru маслянистый (oily, greasy) · de ölhaltig (oily, greasy) · bg мазен (oily, greasy)