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Definition
unpleasantly and insincerely charming or ingratiating in manner or speech- And a most unctuous and oily of bishops!Upton Sinclair -- The Jungle
- Martin Poyser's large person shook with his silent unctuous laugh.George Eliot -- Adam Bede
- Our d'gods, Holger," he said unctuously.Thomas Mann -- The Magic Mountain
- When I try to put it into words, it comes out one of those unctuous, over-pious platitudes at which Bishops are expected to excel.Margaret Craven -- I Heard the Owl Call My Name
- His voice, so uncommonly unctuous and placating, sounded strange to David's ears despite his misery.Henry Roth -- Call It Sleep
- He made no effort to be civil, or his normal unctuous, ingratiating self.Pat Conroy -- The Water is Wide
- The man proved to be Tyroshi; short and stout and sweaty, with an unctuous smile that reminded her of Varys and a forked beard dyed green and pink.George R.R. Martin -- A Feast For Crows
- Baby Kochamma recognized at once the immense potential of the situation, but immediately anointed her thoughts with unctuous oils.Arundhati Roy -- The God of Small Things
- A sweet and unctuous duty!Herman Melville -- Moby Dick
- Who else, most outspoken prince?" he replied, with an unctuous smile.Fyodor Dostoyevsky -- The Idiot
- It 'minds me of Zack Shalliday, and the way he got wedded," came the unctuous chuckle.Grace MacGowan Cooke -- The Power and the Glory
- In the parlors he was unctuously received by the pastor and a committee of three, wearing morning clothes and a manner of Christian intellectuality.Sinclair Lewis -- Arrowsmith
- His voice was as soft and sympathetic as a mortician's but with no unctuousness.Dean Koontz -- Sole Survivor
- Varys gave the king an unctuous smile and laid a soft hand on Ned's sleeve.George R.R. Martin -- A Game of Thrones
- If we were talking about some thorny issue like welfare reform or affirmative action he would say like a reporter both unctuous and angling, "Mr.Chang-rae Lee -- Native Speaker
- He had dropped his unctuous tone and his smile now.J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- They admire his unctuousness.Sinclair Lewis -- Main Street
- 'An old woman,' said Maggy, with an unctuous smack of her lips.Charles Dickens -- Little Dorrit
- That's the huge Chinese who's always polite — unctuous, actually, but rather sincere.Robert Ludlum -- The Bourne Supremacy
- "But not for long, I think," said Varys unctuously.George R.R. Martin -- A Storm of Swords
(Editor's note: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means the quality of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)
(Editor's note: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means the quality of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)
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