Gruff vs Unctuous - What's the difference?
gruff | unctuous |
having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
hoarse-voiced.
To speak gruffly.
* 2001 , Benny Hinn, He Touched Me: An Autobiography
(of a liquid or fatty substance) Oily or greasy.
* 1851 , , Moby Dick , ch. 96:
Rich, lush, intense, with layers of concentrated, soft, velvety flavor.
* 1872 , , Beauty and The Beast; and Tales of Home , ch. 3:
(by extension, of a person) Profusely polite, especially unpleasantly so and insincerely earnest.
* 1857 , , Volume the Second, page 14 (ISBN 1857150570)
* 1919 , , The Hohenzollerns in America , ch. 8:
As adjectives the difference between gruff and unctuous
is that gruff is having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature while unctuous is oily or greasy.As a verb gruff
is to speak gruffly.gruff
English
Adjective
(er)Quotations
* 1727' "The manner of it was more after the pleasing Transports of those ancient Poets you are often charm'd with, than after the fierce unsociable way of modern Zealots; those starch'd '''gruff Gentlemen, who guard Religion as Bullys to a Mistress, and give us the while a very indifferent Opinion of their Lady's Merit, and their own Wit, by adoring what they neither allow to be inspected by others, nor care themselves to examine in a fair light." — Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury. ''Characteristicks of men, manners, opinions, times . Vol II. p218 * 1729' "They had no Titles of Honour among them, but such as denoted some Bodily Strength or Perfection, as such an one ''the Tall'', such an one ''the Stocky'', such an one the '''Gruff ." — Joseph Addison, Richard Steele. ''The Spectator. Vol VI, No 433. p146 * 1825' "Mr. Suberville, as well as she, surprised and pleased at this proof of politeness so unsuited to his gouty appearance and '''gruff manners, looked at him in astonishment, but were sorry to perceive him stoop down as if he had strained his leg in the exertion, while the pain it caused seemed to have driven every drop of his blood into his sallow face." — Thomas Colley Grattan. ''High-ways and by-ways. Vol III. p209-10Derived terms
* gruffly * gruffnessVerb
(en verb)- “Who gave you that?” replied my father angrily. “Did you bribe someone?” “No,” I told him. “It was a gift, from some people who really want me to be on this trip.” “Fine,” he gruffed .
unctuous
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties.
- The halls and passages of the castle were already permeated with rich and unctuous smells, and a delicate nose might have picked out and arranged, by their finer or coarser vapors, the dishes preparing for the upper and lower tables.
- Then he thoroughly disliked the tone of Mr. Slope's letter; it was unctuous , false, and unwholesome, like the man.
- In superior circles, however, introduction becomes more elaborate, more flattering, more unctuous .