anointed

[uh-noin-tid]

adjective

1. consecrated or made sacred; dedicated to God, often in a ceremony that includes dabbing or sprinkling with holy oil.

   In the Bible, the anointed High Priest was chosen from among the descendants of Aaron.

   From the highest patriarch to the youngest baptized and anointed infant, communion was received by all at the Orthodox church.

2. chosen by or as if by divine authority; chosen for a sacred, high, or special vocation or purpose.

   Stalin left no anointed successor, nor any framework for the orderly transfer of power.

3. Christianity.,  empowered or made effective for God’s purposes by the special activity of the Holy Spirit.

   This is one of the most anointed websites I’ve ever visited—I was so encouraged by the devotional there.

4. rubbed or sprinkled with oil, ointment, or other oil-based mixture.

   Pausing in the kitchen with the turkey, I heard ripples of anticipation as guests awaited the anointed bird and its accouterments.

5. sprinkled or smeared with any liquid (often used in combination).

   The Pilsner on tap was a lovely light beer that paired nicely with lemon-juice-anointed oysters.

noun

1. Often Anointed the person or people chosen or declared chosen by God.

   David kept Abishai from killing King Saul, because it would be wicked to attack the Lord's anointed.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of anoint.

Other Word Forms

• self-anointed adjective
• unanointed adjective
• well-anointed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anointed¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; anoint ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective and noun senses; anoint ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

The go-to benchmarks and data providers for stocks and bonds were anointed long ago.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A’zion has heard those predictions before, so she’s wary about being anointed the next big thing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Prodigy Will Pucovski had long been anointed as a natural successor, but repeated concussions saw him retire aged just 27 after one Test.

Read more on Barron's

Instead, the feeble man behind the curtain is really just a sad, bent, braggart who spends most of his time redecorating the White House and fantasizing that he’s been anointed king of the world.

Read more on Salon

He anointed Freddie Freeman as his favorite player even though “he’s ruined Brewers history many times.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• angelic 
• celestial 
• eternal 
• heavenly 
• holy 
• mystical 
• religious 
• sacred 
• spiritual 
• supernatural 
• transcendent 
• wonderful