adjective
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resembling or having the properties of oil
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containing or producing oil
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oleaginous
First recorded in 1425–50; Middle English oliaginose, (from Middle French oléagineux), from Latin oleāgineus, oleāginius, oleāginus “pertaining to an olive tree,” derivative of olea “olive, olive tree” ( see origin at olive)
Explanation
If your archenemy remarks on your oleaginous skin, she's not giving you a compliment. She's calling you oily-faced. You can impress your friends by commenting on how disgustingly oleaginous your pizza is, or despair over the oleaginous state of an ocean bay after an oil spill. Either way, you're using a fancy word for greasy or oily. And if you run into a particularly slick car salesman, you can describe him as oleaginous too. The adjective oleaginous comes from the Latin root oleaginus, "of the olive."
Vocabulary lists containing oleaginous
All the King's Men
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Where the World Ends
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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.
The oleaginous Bruno becomes both personification and executor of Guy’s desires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Ragoravich is predictably oleaginous, a man with a file cabinet full of hidden agendas, but he is charmingly persuasive, and the money has already been wired into Maggie’s account.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2025
Already masterwork in balancing gentility with explosive rage, the actor blends the spark of a political mover with the oleaginous menace of a mob boss.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2025
But the most villainous entity they encounter is a duplicitous schemer played with oleaginous insincerity by Hugh Grant.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
A month later Pip obtained a humble and oleaginous appointment at the Gresley Motor Works in Westminster Bridge Road.
From "Pip" A Romance of Youth by Ian Hay
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.
