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 second unctuously told his father he would comply but then went off and did something else.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

This makes hangwa — from variations like flaky fried syrup-drenched yakgwa to unctuously puffed rice yugwa to taffy-like yeot candy — a perfect pairing with the holiday.

From Salon • Mar. 12, 2022

Petit manseng is now all the rage in Virginia, solo or in blends, producing aromatic and fruity whites from bone dry to unctuously sweet.

From Washington Post • Jan. 27, 2022

Cochran is a master of code-switching, when it comes to the media: he dismisses the Simpson case as “a loser” to a producer, then unctuously offers sympathy when the cameras blink on.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 8, 2016

He spoke unctuously, as though he had no idea why she really came down; but all three of us knew he knew and that we knew he knew.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin