ANOINT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does anoint mean? 

• ANOINT (verb)
  The verb ANOINT has 2 senses:

1. choose by or as if by divine intervention

2. administer an oil or ointment to; often in a religious ceremony of blessing

  Familiarity information: ANOINT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANOINT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they anoint    ... he / she / it anoints   
Past simple: anointed   
Past participle: anointed   
-ing form: anointing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Choose by or as if by divine intervention

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

She was anointed the head of the Christian fundamentalist group

Hypernyms (to "anoint" is one way to...):

choose; pick out; select; take (pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Administer an oil or ointment to; often in a religious ceremony of blessing

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

anele; anoint; embrocate; inunct; oil

Hypernyms (to "anoint" is one way to...):

bless (give a benediction to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

anointer (one who anoints as a religious ceremony)

anointment (the act of applying oil or an oily liquid)

 Context examples 

There is a vague belief abroad, that the beef suet with which he anoints his hair gives him unnatural strength, and that he is a match for a man.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Then was he anointed and consecrated, and thus was fulfilled what he had heard from the frogs on his way, which had so affected him, that he was to be his Holiness the Pope.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

He is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Meg had an extra row of little curlpapers across her forehead, Jo had copiously anointed her afflicted face with cold cream, Beth had taken Joanna to bed with her to atone for the approaching separation, and Amy had capped the climax by putting a clothespin on her nose to uplift the offending feature.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)