verb

• 1Smear or rub with oil, typically as part of a religious ceremony.

  ‘high priests were anointed with oil’

  More example sentences

  • ‘bodies were anointed after death for burial’
  • ‘According to some reports, when they returned two days later to anoint his body, they found the tomb empty.’
  • ‘The women speculate on the stone and who will move it for them so they can anoint the body.’
  • ‘One traditional practice that is part of this belief system is anointing one's body with butter or ghee, a clarified butter used for cooking and other purposes.’
  • ‘Ritually anointing our hands is both a symbol of the renewal of creation as well as a spiritual cleansing in preparation for the work of the new day.’
  • ‘He begins by accepting the very dubious identification of her with the ‘woman who was a sinner’ and who anointed the feet of Christ.’
  • ‘For example, the body might first be anointed with oil to prevent water from seeping through the skin.’
  • ‘Achilles goes out to the wagon and takes two capes and a shirt for Hector's body, ordering his men to clean and anoint the body before Priam sees it.’
  • ‘When Mary Magdalene went to Jesus's tomb to anoint the body, she was shocked to find it empty.’
  • ‘An unsteady faith leads us back to the tombs, as it led Mary in her desire to anoint Jesus once more in death.’
  • ‘He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the layer and its base, to sanctify them.’
  • ‘The bishop's prayer that speaks of the layer of regeneration of the Holy Spirit is given next as he lays a hand on the new Christians and anoints them on the forehead with holy oil.’
  • ‘Oil was used for anointing the objects in the tabernacle setting them apart for Gods use.’
  • ‘After death, bodies are rubbed and anointed to remove rigor mortis.’
  • ‘The first episode of the passion account is that of a nameless woman who anoints Jesus for burial, correctly recognizing his kingly identity and his approaching death.’
  • ‘Deeply ashamed and motivated by love and repentance, she anoints Jesus with oil and washes his feet.’
  • ‘Moses then took the anointing oil, anointed the Tabernacle, and all that was within it and consecrated it.’
  • ‘The Rev Derek Wooldridge anointed the baby with oil at her hospital bedside in Leeds before a donor was found.’
  • ‘In front of the altar, the priest anoints the child with the ‘oil of joy’ (blessed olive oil) on the forehead, breast, shoulders, ears, hands, and feet.’
  • ‘Following baptism, the child is anointed with a special oil and dressed in new clothing.’
  • ‘The priest anointed me with the oil of confirmation.’

  Synonyms

  smear with oil, rub with oil, apply oil to, spread oil over

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1anoint something withSmear or rub something with (any other substance)
     ‘Kuna Indians anoint the tips of their arrows with poison’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Because if you're anointing your appliances with olive oil because a WEBSITE told you to, you're clearly easily manipulated.’
     • ‘We see the example of the act of anointing people with oil for physical ailments…’
     • ‘When I started at the Savoy my temporary boss was the young Spanish man who, as previously described, had anointed my middle finger with vintage brandy.’
     • ‘In front of rapt audiences he would burn his skin with acid and then anoint the wounds with his wonder-jelly, pointing to earlier scars Vaseline had healed.’
     • ‘Shiva anoints his arm with sandal paste and holy water of river Ganges.’
     • ‘He anoints his body with an endless series of unguents, emollients, lubricants, and conditioners.’
     • ‘Like the bloody napkin and the physical examination, this test is not as foolproof as it sounds: one simply anoints the sieve with lanolin to provide a seal.’
     • ‘But the tearful lover, turned away from her door, often smothers the threshold with flowers and garlands, and anoints the proud doorposts with marjoram, and plants kisses, poor wretch, on the door.’
     • ‘If you are lucky, you may even find an artist carefully anointing a canvas with oils, while the service staff move past with the plates for the diners.’
     • ‘Wine-based oils were popularly used for anointing the forehead with perfumed unguents.’
     • ‘As I dressed her wound, she informed me of how she had initiated her treatment at home by anointing the offending knife with oil, wrapping it in a clean linen napkin, and placing the knife in a drawer.’
     • ‘The priest anointed the plough with sandalwood, salt, and holy chrism.’
     • ‘Crush them, take your men and wipe them clean from this earth, anoint the soil with their blood, and spill it in my name, for this land shall be our land now.’
     • ‘The girls bowed before the image and then anointed it with powder from a small pot carried by one the brides' friends.’
     • ‘Rian said, ‘Does the priest anoint them with holy water?’’
     • ‘Fat of lion, fat of hippo, fat of cat, fat of crocodile, fat of ibex, fat of serpent, are mixed together and the head of the bald person is anointed with them.’
     • ‘As we sniffed the ballotine of foie gras, we realised that it had been anointed with balsamic that was a mere 10 years old.’
     • ‘He anoints them with water, pelts them with rocks, and burns Asian bank notes inside the craniums before covering them with Mardi Gras beads and found objects.’
     • ‘In the poem, Hector's body, attached to Achilles' chariot and dragged around Troy, cannot be mutilated because Aphrodite has anointed it with ambrosia.’
     • ‘Savitri looked down again and saw that she was anointing her husband's body with a drizzle of tears.’
  2. 1.2Ceremonially confer divine or holy office upon (a priest or monarch) by smearing or rubbing with oil.
     with object and complement ‘Samuel anointed him king’
     More example sentences

     • ‘This was the oil they used to anoint kings and priests, and that upon John the Baptist anointing Jesus, Jesus sees a vision of God, and the Holy Spirit descends on him.’
     • ‘In 754 Pope Stephen II personally went to Ponthion to consecrate his power through the highly symbolical act of ceremonially anointing Pippin as king.’
     • ‘But when the time comes for a conclave to anoint a new pontiff to lead the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, John Paul's influence will still be considerable.’
     • ‘The modern bureaucratic nation-state is not the same as the medieval Christian king anointed by God to wield the secular sword.’
     • ‘God told the prophet Samuel to go to Jesse's home to anoint the next king of Israel.’
     • ‘So a delegation is dispatched to ask Samuel to anoint a king instead.’
     • ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.’
     • ‘She understood however, the power of symbolism and why the king she crowned had to be anointed with holy oils.’
     • ‘Shortly after Solomon is anointed king, God appears to him in a dream in which He invites Solomon to make a request for himself.’
     • ‘This is necessary because the Messiah will be a king, and a king can be anointed only by a prophet.’
     • ‘In one he expressly declared that the coronation of the Young King by the Archbishop of York did not constitute a precedent and that the right to crown and anoint the kings of England belonged to Canterbury.’
     • ‘In the year 879 Saul is anointed as king by the prophet Samuel in accordance with the wishes of the people.’
     • ‘Saul was anointed as king, and was used by God and victories were given him.’
     • ‘The prophet Samuel has been prompted by God to anoint the new kings of Israel.’
     • ‘When the first king turned from the ways of God, he anointed the next king, David, and heralded in another era.’
     • ‘He will then be anointed in a special ceremony and, as an act of humility, will wash the hands of various members of the community.’
     • ‘Jesus was anointed by the Spirit for the extraordinary task of ministry.’
     • ‘Both the Visigoths and the Franks, in emulation of the Old Testament, anointed their kings with holy oil.’
     • ‘In Israel, high priests were anointed with oil, signifying that God had chosen them.’
     • ‘Although all kings seemingly passed through a ritual inauguration - the evidence is less clear-cut for Wales than elsewhere - only the English kings were anointed with holy oil in the style of the main western European monarchies.’
     Synonyms

     consecrate, sanctify, bless, ordain, hallow

     View synonyms
  3. 1.3Nominate or choose (someone) as successor to or leading candidate for a position.
     ‘he was anointed as the organizational candidate of the party’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Their shot at least one network anchor job was eliminated this past summer when MSNBC anchor Brian Williams was anointed the successor to NBC veteran anchor Tom Brokaw.’
     • ‘Such a reputation has Harrington that in Houston, Charles Barkley had anointed him his successor at power forward.’
     • ‘As a hardline right-winger in the early 1990s I was personally anointed by Margaret Thatcher as her chosen successor.’
     • ‘The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee will be known long before the party faithful gather in Boston this summer to officially anoint him to challenge President George W. Bush.’
     • ‘Johnny will interpret his increased margin and perceived further conservative shift as justification to anoint Tony Abbott as his chosen successor.’
     • ‘When Ricky Ponting was injured, he more or less anointed Michael Clarke as his successor.’
     • ‘I have been brought up by a father who made it clear that he thought women could do everything men could do and anointed me as a leader and as a person he believed had capacity.’
     • ‘His fellow lawyers at the American Bar Association awarded him their Silver Gavel award, and the prestigious Journal of Philosophy anoints him ‘America's leading legal philosopher.’’
     • ‘There is a hue and cry about statements made by the Opposition, but consider this: the Prime Minister anoints his wife Minister of Education.’
     • ‘The administration's obsession with loyalty has also kept the administration from anointing a physician already in government as chief medical spokesperson.’
     • ‘The proposal is to give the power of anointing a new leader back to MPs.’
     • ‘Nor is he doing all that badly for one who never cared to travel abroad and rarely read up on foreign policy issues before the Supreme Court suddenly anointed him President.’
     • ‘It's ten years since Tony Blair was anointed leader of the British Labour Party.’
     • ‘Since that speech, he was anointed as a future leader of the Democratic Party.’
     • ‘And now his party will anoint this man their ‘hero’, and send him off to battle for the leadership of the free world.’
     • ‘Asked about the Chancellor's future, Mr Blair praised Mr Brown but stopped short of anointing him.’
     • ‘Of course, now that Apple has anointed him CEO, Jobs is no longer an interim success story, but he has become a model in how an interim can recharge an organization.’
     • ‘Six years later she was anointed prime minister.’
     • ‘He later discovered that there is a ritual of initiation into the army in which all applicants are anointed under the spirit of the lion.’
     • ‘It told people when to move to new hunting grounds, when to plant crops, when to bury the dead, anoint new rulers, slaughter animals, make babies.’