as in anointment
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as in smearing
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
anoint the wound with antiseptic to prevent infection
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Recent Examples of anointing
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2026
By all accounts, virality is violent for its subjects, and building a sustainable career from sudden celebrity is a formidable task; any sensible person would be wise to distrust such an instantaneous anointing.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Chalamet represents a less comfortable path for the industry — an anointing of the popular kid, an endorsement of a set of campaign standards that doesn’t exactly align with its own.
—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Mar. 2026
The anointing of Dokoupil in mid-December may have surprised some viewers.
—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Clair Obscur was already the favorite to win the grand prize — but kicking off the show with the game front-and-center felt like an anointing.
—
James Perkins Mastromarino,
NPR,
12 Dec. 2025
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
21 June 2026
The brochures were distributed at the annual Extel awards, a survey of fund managers anointing the analysts deemed best in their field, announced at a lunch at the Guildhall.
—
Ian King,
CNBC,
17 June 2026
Otherwise, the evening was more about anointing talent that was arguably overdue for awards recognition.
—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
At least one competitor is already anointing Stolz, a seven-time world champ who’s just 21— and only halfway through the Olympic program in Milan—the best ever.
—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
14 Feb. 2026
Hot 97 has played an outsize role for decades in debuting new hits, anointing superstars, and wading into major cultural debates; Mero’s most recent predecessor in the morning-show role is Ebro Darden, who announced the end of his 20-plus-year tenure at the station in December.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Feb. 2026
The wins come on the heels of the Gotham Film Awards anointing One Battle After Another its Best Feature on Monday, and the New York Film Critics Circle doing the same Tuesday.
—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
3 Dec. 2025
Since Ellison’s takeover of Paramount, the company has raised eyebrows for seeming to appease conservative audiences, particularly with CBS News anointing Weiss, who forged her brand as a columnist arguing against progressive politics.
—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Prosecutors said that instead of seeking medical treatment when their two-day-old son, Hayden, stopped eating and began to turn pale blue, Blair, 37, and Taylor, 32, relied on praying over their son’s body and anointing him with olive oil.
—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
The Sunshine State Letdown is one more phase in the choreographed anointing of Donalds as the Republican nominee for governor.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2026
By all accounts, virality is violent for its subjects, and building a sustainable career from sudden celebrity is a formidable task; any sensible person would be wise to distrust such an instantaneous anointing.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Chalamet represents a less comfortable path for the industry — an anointing of the popular kid, an endorsement of a set of campaign standards that doesn’t exactly align with its own.
—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Mar. 2026
The anointing of Dokoupil in mid-December may have surprised some viewers.
—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Clair Obscur was already the favorite to win the grand prize — but kicking off the show with the game front-and-center felt like an anointing.
—
James Perkins Mastromarino,
NPR,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
On the set that was apparently once a Jehovah’s Witness Headquarters, Lineker was beatific, anointing the next generation.
—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
21 June 2026
The brochures were distributed at the annual Extel awards, a survey of fund managers anointing the analysts deemed best in their field, announced at a lunch at the Guildhall.
—
Ian King,
CNBC,
17 June 2026
Otherwise, the evening was more about anointing talent that was arguably overdue for awards recognition.
—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
At least one competitor is already anointing Stolz, a seven-time world champ who’s just 21— and only halfway through the Olympic program in Milan—the best ever.
—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
14 Feb. 2026
Hot 97 has played an outsize role for decades in debuting new hits, anointing superstars, and wading into major cultural debates; Mero’s most recent predecessor in the morning-show role is Ebro Darden, who announced the end of his 20-plus-year tenure at the station in December.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Feb. 2026
The wins come on the heels of the Gotham Film Awards anointing One Battle After Another its Best Feature on Monday, and the New York Film Critics Circle doing the same Tuesday.
—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
3 Dec. 2025
Since Ellison’s takeover of Paramount, the company has raised eyebrows for seeming to appease conservative audiences, particularly with CBS News anointing Weiss, who forged her brand as a columnist arguing against progressive politics.
—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Prosecutors said that instead of seeking medical treatment when their two-day-old son, Hayden, stopped eating and began to turn pale blue, Blair, 37, and Taylor, 32, relied on praying over their son’s body and anointing him with olive oil.
—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anointing
Noun
-
The result of this dynamic tension of bootlickers, according to Bernhard’s narrator, is the perpetual elevation and official anointment of mediocrity.
-
According to the Dera, Singh’s ascent to power is a story of divine anointment.
Verb
-
At the entrance of Kollparay, Quispe pauses, taking my hands and smearing them with soil—the soil of her village.
-
This will lead to smearing dust particles around instead of picking them up, which is where a wet cloth comes into play.
Noun
-
The July 2 decree said the two bishops leading the unauthorized ordination, held in Switzerland on July 1, had been excommunicated, along with the four priests who had become new bishops, which was widely expected.
-
Cardinal Blaise Cupich presided over the ordination.
Verb
-
Here, interior designers share some go-to ways to transform your orangey kitchen while working with the cabinets, not painting or replacing them.
-
But Green’s advanced statistics sharply declined, with his box-plus-minus painting him as only a slightly above-average stopper while being one of the worst offensive players in the league.
Noun
-
Proponents of the authorization note that the $155 million investment arrives four years after a severe drought in the Sacramento Valley in 2022 had cost local communities hundreds of millions of dollars and roughly 1,500 jobs.
-
Strengthening domestic chip supply The agreement builds on Micron’s ongoing investment to expand automotive semiconductor production in the United States.
Verb
-
But the real pleasure is the 303 basslines that squirm in between the drums, coating the soundscapes of the tracks in grime and noxious soot.
-
The Shanghai researchers say the coating can be applied using conventional automotive spray-coating techniques.
Noun
-
Swift arrived at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony with Kelce and both of their families, marking one of the couple's biggest public celebrations to date.
-
The kitchen block across the way is pretty conventional and relies on a portable single-hob induction cooktop that can be used on the counter or outside via the AC electrical outlet.
Noun
-
The result is uncommon room layouts like the tri-suite king room equipped with two twin-sized beds and a king bed split by a privacy divider that doubles as a playful art installation.
-
Authorities say a subcontracted excavation company was working ahead of the installation of a sanitary sewer line at the time of the incident.
Cite this Entry
“Anointing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anointing. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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