unction
part of speech
noun (unction — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) (church) Unction is the act of anointing someone with holy oil as a sign of God's blessing, for example for the sick. tree →
2) (formal, disapproving) Unction is a way of talking that is too smooth, oily and falsely serious or polite. tree →
3) With unction means speaking with great warmth and feeling, as if you really enjoy what you are saying. tree →
sense in the lessons
In church, «the anointing of the sick», once called «extreme unction», is a sacrament in which a priest anoints a sick or dying person with oil; Catholics and some other Christians believe it brings God's strength and comfort. In the Bible, kings and priests were anointed with oil. In old books a person who speaks «with unction» seems greasy and insincere.
examples
- The priest gave unction to the dying man. tree →
- Kings were anointed with holy oil, a kind of unction. tree →
- He spoke with great unction about his own goodness. tree →
- The anointing of the sick was once called extreme unction. tree →
- The salesman's unction made us distrust him. tree →
- Christians believe the oil is a sign of God's care. tree →
note
Uncountable. Adjective: «unctuous» (oily, too smooth) is used more today than «unction» for the second sense.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «unction» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.