If you were to pick up and read a 19th century novel, or better yet, a 17th century novel, you would likely find yourself unfamiliar with words that appear to have been familiar at the time of first publishing. As we add new words to describe the world around us, we lose others along the way. Sometimes the change feels too utilitarian, with narrowly defined adjectives vanishing to be replaced by a growing amount of technical jargon and indecipherable slang. English seems to be losing its poetry.
Assuming you care and are bothered by any of this, what can we do? We are not powerless. Perhaps you can use technology to better advantage. Request that your AI use an older English form of the language when it answers your queries. I suspect if it cannot do that now, it will develop the talent in short order. It would probably be fun to have ChatGPT or Claude answer your questions in the language style of Charles Dickens or Mark Twain – and perhaps you’d keep old words alive in this way. If you do not want to rely on machines, though, there is another way. You can do the leg work of seeking out words and using them. That’s what I’m doing here.
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin ūnctuōsus, equivalent to Latin ūnctu(s) “act of anointing” ( ung(uere) “to smear, anoint” + -tus suffix of verb action) + -ōsus-ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A core subplot in the film involves Ella’s father, played with an unctuous, desperate charm by Harrelson, reappearing in her life after many years with his own agenda.
Moreover, the script transitions him, through Finan’s effective performance, from a gawky, bespectacled nerd putting on airs, into an unctuous political predator.
That combination of pop from the tiny mustard seeds; the unctuous, melty fat of the salami; and the peppery hot flavors is, for 30 seconds, my idea of heaven.
