unction

Use Unction in a sentence

noun

an act of anointing, especially as a medical treatment or religious rite.

an unguent or ointment; salve.

something soothing or comforting.

an excessive, affected, sometimes cloying earnestness or fervor in manner, especially in speaking.

Religion.

the oil used in religious rites, as in anointing the sick or dying.

the shedding of a divine or spiritual influence upon a person.

the influence shed.

extreme unction.

the manifestation of spiritual or religious inspiration.

Relevant Questions

What Is Extreme Unction?

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English unctioun < Latin ūnctiōn (stem of ūnctiō) anointing, besmearing, equivalent to ūnct(us) (past participle of ung(u)ere to smear, anoint) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

unc·tion·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To unction

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Unction is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

unction (ˈʌŋkʃən)

—n
1.	chiefly RC Church, Eastern Churches the act of anointing with oil in sacramental ceremonies, in the conferring of holy orders
2.	excessive suavity or affected charm
3.	an ointment or unguent
4.	anything soothing or comforting

[C14: from Latin unctiō an anointing, from ungere to anoint; see unguent]

'unctionless

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

unction

late 14c., "act of anointing as a religious rite," from L. unctionem (nom. unctio) "anointing," from unctus, pp. of ungere "to anoint" (see unguent).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

unction unc·tion (ŭngk'shən)
n.
The action of applying or rubbing with an ointment or oil.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Easton

Bible Dictionary

Unction definition

(1 John 2:20,27; R.V., "anointing"). Kings, prophets, and priests were anointed, in token of receiving divine grace. All believers are, in a secondary sense, what Christ was in a primary sense, "the Lord's anointed."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

unction

ritual application of oil or fat to the head or body of a person or to an object; an almost universal practice in the history of religions, although both the cultic practice followed and the sacred substance employed vary from one religion to another. It is possible to recognize three distinct, though not separate, meanings ascribed to ritual anointments by the devotees of various religions

Learn more about unction with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

He speaks of chrism as a holy thing, and of the unction that was used at baptism.

At nine o'clock the same evening she desired and received extreme unction.

Preserve the grace of the holy baptism, and the unction of the chrism.

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extreme unction oil of the sick sacrament

Matching Quote

"Lay not that flattering unction to your soul,
That not your trespass but my madness speaks;
It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,
Whilst rank corruption, mining all within,
Infects unseen."

-Shakespeare