anoint
Americanverb (used with object)
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to rub or sprinkle on; apply an unguent, ointment, or oily liquid to.
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to smear with any liquid.
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to consecrate or make sacred in a ceremony that includes the token applying of oil.
He anointed the new high priest.
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to dedicate to the service of God.
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to select for an honor, a particular role or office, etc..
After today’s interview, it looks like he will soon be anointed as head of the new Special Projects division.
The headline read, “Dictionary.com anoints ‘allyship’ Word of the Year for 2021.”
verb
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to smear or rub over with oil or an oily liquid
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to apply oil to as a sign of consecration or sanctification in a sacred rite
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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anointsimple
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anointssimple
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have anointedperfect
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has anointedperfect
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am anointingprogressive
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are anointingprogressive
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is anointingprogressive
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have been anointingperfect progressive
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has been anointingperfect progressive
Past
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anointedsimple
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had anointedperfect
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was anointingprogressive
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were anointingprogressive
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had been anointingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of anoint
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English anoynten, derivative of anoynt, enoynt (past participle), from Old French enoint, from Latin inūnctus “anointed” (past participle of inungere ), equivalent to in- in- 2 + ung- “smear with oil” + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
To anoint means to choose by divine intervention. Or at least it seems like the big guy upstairs had something to do with it. Saints and religious leaders are said to be anointed, but so is that new unstoppable quarterback who saved the team midseason. Anoint comes to us from the ancient Latin word unguere, which means "to smear." Which explains the other sense of this word, which is to apply with oil or another smearable substance, such as during a religious ceremony.
Vocabulary lists containing anoint
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Mythology
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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.
See Examples For:
It was impossible to separate the photo with a by-election winner from the gathering to anoint a new leader which this also seemed to become, especially considering some of the MPs present.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Look at the way we anoint actors, pop stars, politicians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
The third-placed Pheu Thai party of jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra agreed to join him in a coalition, alongside several smaller parties, and parliament will anoint him on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
Grammy voters go back and forth with this award: Sometimes they anoint headstrong youngsters as rock’s great new hope; other times they congratulate wizened oldsters for staying in the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2025
“A stone of no great size which the priests of Delphi anoint every day with oil.”
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Each year TED anoints a small cohort—scientists, artists, activists, and entrepreneurs—as TED Fellows, giving them visibility, coaching, and introductions to potential funders.
From Slate ● May 8, 2026
Overlooking David’s many strapping older brothers, the wise elder anoints the astonished kid as the next king, but cautions him that the ceremony must be kept secret.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
A: When he anoints himself the story's hero.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2022
He even creates the genre “History as a Nightmare” and anoints Soviet novelist and political dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn its master practitioner.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2022
When he anoints Dain’s other side, he paints it in thick swaths of pollen, yellow as butter.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Thatcher, his latest anointed icon, fares no better than a butterfly pinned to his mood board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
In the course of a whirlwind four weeks, every wing of the parliamentary Labour Party has anointed him as the only person able to reverse their electoral predicament.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Valdes was anointed a "hero of the Republic" for his part in the revolution.
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
So far, there are no visible cracks that would produce someone like Venezuela’s Rodríguez, who could be anointed by the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
He who was supposedly anointed by God and would rule with Christ for a thousand years.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
In that sense, it appeared more like an anointing than a procedural formality: the veteran of the American left passing the baton to a younger standard-bearer.
From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026
He was anointing them, he said, to become poll workers.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2024
Nearly 10 years ago, Cancro performed the anointing of the sick — laying hands on a person who is ill, spreading oil on their forehead and praying — on Eguino.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
In the UK, the centre of the Coronation was a deeply religious ceremony, steeped in ancient tradition, with the anointing of the monarch with holy oil and a crown being placed upon his head.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2024
The praying, vowing, and anointing seemed to take most of the morning. lyrion's legs soon began to ache.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
