How to Use unctuous in a Sentence

unctuous

adjective
  • The candidate made an unctuous effort to appear religious to the voters.
  • The heat from the noodles will cook the egg, melt the cheese, and create an unctuous sauce.
    — Hetty McKinnon, Bon Appétit, 10 July 2020
  • That’s why ice cream is smooth and unctuous, while frozen milk is crisp and icy.
    — Elsbeth Sites, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2015
  • The earthiness in the cheese meets the unctuous fruitiness of the wine in a way that enhances the flavors of both.
    — Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2019
  • Truth be told, the smoked or fatty meats give a lot of our food its deep, unctuous soul.
    — Amethyst Ganaway, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2022
  • The result is fish bathing in an unctuous, salty brown sauce.
    — Tan Vinh, The Seattle Times, 11 July 2017
  • The dish was so unctuous, meaty and juicy and so comforting on what seemed like the one frigid night that month.
    — Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024
  • But that uber unctuous pork inside is more than worth the burn.
    — Jenn Harrisstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2019
  • Its flavor is best described as beefy, in a rich and unctuous way.
    — Javier Cabral, Bon Appétit, 21 July 2023
  • The best for fish are those unctuous, yellow-green oils from places such as Provence, France, or Liguria, Italy.
    — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 5 June 2019
  • While this unctuous fluid has plenty of things in its favor, there is a dark side to it.
    — Tim MacWelch/outdoor Life, Popular Science, 5 Oct. 2020
  • And, just like the fabled fish, I was conned into eating these unctuous dumplings all my life.
    — May Klisch, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2019
  • Slowly braised, the meat becomes tender and unctuous, while the liquid is enriched with the marrow from the shank bone.
    — Cosmo Genova, Field & Stream, 24 Feb. 2021
  • The pickled mustard seeds provide little pears of flavor and an edge of acid that cuts through the unctuous dish.
    — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 30 Dec. 2024
  • My first sip was a wet slap of flavor: salty, earthy, rich bordering on unctuous.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 27 Mar. 2023
  • The soil seems to come through in the wine, which in the 2019 vintage balances a bitter, ferrous backbone with unctuous flavors of cocoa and fig.
    — Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2022
  • Then it’s all topped with crispy capers that give the unctuous dish a nice textural contrast.
    — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 29 Dec. 2022
  • The flaky flatbread is served with an unctuous chicken curry or with sharp white cheddar and a dusting of cheese on top.
    — Christina Liao, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021
  • The first was loud, deep and unctuous, the second was casual — until money came up.
    — Jesse McKinley, New York Times, 2 May 2024
  • Every good cook knows to let their meat rest after it’s fully cooked to let the juices settle and the meat remain unctuous at the moment of serving.
    — Hugh Garvey, Sunset Magazine, 10 Sep. 2020
  • Then road riding seemed to lose some of its unctuous, depilated sheen.
    — Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 2 June 2022
  • This unctuous, golden liquid is most often seen in splits — 375ml bottles, equal to a half bottle of wine.
    — Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Feb. 2023
  • The maguey imparts a subtly vegetal flavor, and cooks reserve just enough fat so that each bite of meat is unctuous.
    — Edmund Tijerina, Bon Appétit, 27 Feb. 2025
  • It’s smoky and hot and adds an unctuous richness that’s intense yet magnetic.
    — Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Aug. 2022
  • Will Arnett is back, and game, as April’s unctuous former colleague.
    — Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 2 June 2016
  • There is more than chicken on the menu: an unctuous bite of freshwater eel, curved up like a miniature wooden footbridge.
    — San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Nov. 2019
  • The snap and sting of pickled carrots, daikon and chiles mingle with splintering bread, unctuous pâté and meats that are grilled or processed into cold cuts.
    — Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2020
  • For the richest, densest, most unctuous quiche, choose heavy cream.
    — Georgeanne Brennan, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026
  • There is nothing unctuous about the clear, aromatic broth.
    — Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Spooned over the top is a clam and cream sauce with bits of crispy guanciale strewn throughout for an unctuous, salty backbone.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unctuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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