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Unctuous vs Sweet - What's the difference?

unctuous | sweet |

As an adjective unctuous

is (of a liquid or fatty substance) oily or greasy.

As a proper noun sweet is

.

unctuous

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (of a liquid or fatty substance) Oily or greasy.
  • * 1851 , , Moby Dick , ch. 96:
  • In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties.
  • Rich, lush, intense, with layers of concentrated, soft, velvety flavor.
  • * 1872 , , Beauty and The Beast; and Tales of Home , ch. 3:
  • 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.
  • (by extension, of a person) Profusely polite, especially unpleasantly so and insincerely earnest.
  • * 1857 , , Volume the Second, page 14 (ISBN 1857150570)
  • Then he thoroughly disliked the tone of Mr. Slope's letter; it was unctuous , false, and unwholesome, like the man.
  • * 1919 , , The Hohenzollerns in America , ch. 8:
  • In superior circles, however, introduction becomes more elaborate, more flattering, more unctuous .

    Synonyms

    * (of a liquid) oleaginous, saponaceous, slimy * savorous * creepy, effusive, groveling, oleaginous, slimy, sycophantic

    Derived terms

    * unctuosity * unctuously * unctuousness

    sweet

    English

    (wikipedia sweet)

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Having a pleasant taste, especially one relating to the basic taste sensation induced by sugar.
  • a sweet apple
  • Having a taste of sugar.
  • Containing a sweetening ingredient.
  • (wine) Retaining a portion of sugar.
  • Sweet wines are better dessert wines.
  • Not having a salty taste.
  • sweet butter
  • * 1821 , Robert Thomas, The modern practice of physic
  • Nothing has been found so effectual for preserving water sweet at sea, during long voyages, as charring the insides of the casks well before they are filled.
  • Having a pleasant smell.
  • a sweet scent
  • * Longfellow
  • The breath of these flowers is sweet to me.
  • Not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale.
  • sweet milk
  • Having a pleasant sound.
  • a sweet tune
  • * Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • a voice sweet , tremulous, but powerful
  • Having a pleasing disposition.
  • a sweet child
  • Having a helpful disposition.
  • It was sweet of him to help out.
  • (mineralogy) Free from excessive unwanted substances like acid or sulphur.
  • sweet soil
    sweet crude oil
  • (informal) Very pleasing; agreeable.
  • The new Lexus was a sweet birthday gift.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2014
  • , date=November 14 , author=Stephen Halliday , title=Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero , work=The Scotsman citation , page= , passage=GORDON Strachan enjoyed the sweetest of his 16 matches in charge of Scotland so far as his team enhanced their prospects of Euro 2016 qualification with a crucial and deserved victory over Republic of Ireland.}}
  • (informal, followed by on) Romantically fixated, enamored (followed by with), fond (followed by of).
  • The attraction was mutual and instant; they were sweet on one another from first sight.
  • (obsolete) Fresh; not salt or brackish.
  • sweet water
    (Francis Bacon)
  • Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair.
  • a sweet''' face; a '''sweet colour or complexion
  • * Milton
  • Sweet interchange / Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains.

    Synonyms

    * (having a taste of sugar) saccharine, sugary * (containing a sweetening ingredient) sugared, sweetened * (not having a salty taste) fresh, unsalty * (having a pleasant smell) fragrant, odoriferous, odorous, perfumed, scented, sweet-scented, sweet-smelling * fresh, unfermented, wholesome * (having a pleasant sound) dulcet, honeyed, mellifluous, mellisonant * (having a pleasing disposition) cute, lovable, pleasant * (having a helpful disposition) kind, gracious, helpful, sensitive, thoughtful * rad, awesome, wicked

    Antonyms

    * (having a pleasant taste) bitter, sour, salty * (containing a sweetening ingredient) nonsweet, sugarless, unsugared, unsweetened, unsweet * dry * decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, stale * (not having a salty taste) salty, savoury * (free from excessive unwanted substances) sour * lame, uncool

    Derived terms

    * bittersweet * boiled sweet * flower-sweet * honey-sweet * meadowsweet * semisweet * short and sweet * sickeningly sweet * sickly sweet/sickly-sweet * sugar-sweet * sweet action * (sweet alison) * (sweet almond) * (sweet alyssum) * sweet and sour * sweet as * sweet as a nut * sweet as pie * sweet ball * (sweet balm) * sweet basil * sweet bay * (sweet bells) * sweet birch * sweet bread * sweetbread * sweet-breasted * (sweetbriar) * (sweet calabash) * (sweet cassava) * sweet cheeks * sweet cherry * sweet chocolate * (sweet cicely) * sweet cider * (sweet clover) * (sweet coltsfoot) * sweet corn/sweet-corn/sweetcorn * sweet cream * sweet cup * sweet dreams * (sweet elder) * sweeten * sweetener * sweet FA * (sweet fern) * sweet flag * (vern, sweet four o'clock) * sweet gale * (sweet goldenrod) * sweet grass * sweet gum tree * sweet hereafter * sweet iron * sweetish * sweetkin * sweet leaf * sweet lemon * (sweet lime) * sweetly * (sweet marjoram) * sweet Mary * sweetmeat * (sweet melon) * sweetness * sweet nothings * sweet oil * sweet on * sweet orange * sweet pea * sweet pepper * sweet pickle * sweet potato * (sweet rocket) * sweet roll * sweetroot * sweets * sweet scabious * sweet science * (sweet shrub) * sweet sixteen * Sweet Sixteen * sweet-smelling * sweet-sop * (sweet sorghum) * sweet spot * (sweet sultan) * sweet-talk * sweet talker * sweet tooth * (sweet unicorn plant) * sweet vermouth * (sweet vetch) * (sweet violet) * sweet water * (sweet wattle) * sweet william/Sweet William * sweet woodruff * sweety * sweet young thing * unsweet * (winter sweet)

    Usage notes

    * Also used as a positive response to good news or information: They're making a sequel? Ah, sweet !

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a sweet manner.
  • (Shakespeare)

    Synonyms

    * (in a sweet manner) sweetly

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The basic taste sensation induced by sugar.
  • (countable, British) A confection made from sugar, or high in sugar content; a candy.
  • (countable, British) A food eaten for dessert.
  • Can we see the sweet menu, please?
  • sweetheart; darling
  • * Ben Jonson
  • Wherefore frowns my sweet ?
  • (obsolete) That which is sweet or pleasant in odour; a perfume.
  • * Milton
  • a wilderness of sweets
  • (obsolete) That which is pleasing or welcome to the mind.
  • the sweets of domestic life

    Synonyms

    * (sweet taste sensation) See sweetness * (food that is high in sugar content) bonbon, candy (US), confection, confectionery, lolly (Australia) * (food eaten for dessert) See dessert

    Derived terms

    * sweet shop * sweetshop

    Statistics

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