unctuousness

English

Etymology

“unctuous” + “-ness”

Noun

unctuousness (uncountable)

1. The state or characteristic of being unctuous.
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, ch. 94:

     Plum-pudding is the term bestowed upon certain fragmentary parts of the whale's flesh, here and there adhering to the blanket of blubber, and often participating to a considerable degree in its unctuousness.

   • 1919, Anthony Hope, The Secret of the Tower, ch. 17:

     Only Mr. Radbolt's unctuousness—surely it would have smoothed the stormiest waves—saved the social situation.

Synonyms

• unctuosity