extreme unction

[ek-streem, ik-streem]

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

1. anointing of the sick.

extreme unction

noun

1. RC Church a former name for anointing of the sick

Word History and Origins

Origin of extreme unction¹

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

If I were diagnosing democracy right now in America, it is in a state of extreme unction.

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“Did you call a priest to give him extreme unction?” he asked.

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Accepting it, he joked: "I knew that being made a Saoi... is extreme unction; it is a final anointment - Aosdana's last rites."

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The movie is a dewy valentine in funeral time, a last rite administered with extreme unction.

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Another woman grinned with pride when she correctly answered that “extreme unction” is what Catholics used to call the Anointing of the Sick, part of the Last Rites.

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