inunction means the anointing or rubbing in of oil or balm. It carries an Arena rating of 1565, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, inunction ranks #1,701 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #3,306 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #5,080 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #5,449 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
inunction is pronounced /ɪnˈʌŋkʃən/.
Why “inunction” is a great word
The medicinal act of applying an oil or balm by rubbing it into the skin. From Latin inunctiō, from inunctus, past participle of inunguere (“to anoint”), from in- (“in, on”) + unguere (“to anoint, smear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to anoint”). First attested in English 1595–1605. Unlike “unction,” which carries the weight of sacred ceremony, or “liniment,” which denotes the liquid itself, “inunction” is the deliberate, physical work of incorporation. It is the steady, circular pressure of a salve on a strained muscle, the gentle friction of camphor oil warming a congested chest, or the methodical anointing of dry parchment-leather hands before a cold night—the humble sacrament of transferring a healing agency from vessel to flesh.
Etymology
From Latin inunctio, from inunctus, past participle of inungo (“anoint”), from in- + ungo (“anoint”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“anoint”).
noun
- The anointing or rubbing in of oil or balm.e.g.“Besides these fomentations, irrigations, inunctions, odoraments, prescribed for the head, there must be the like used for the liver, spleen, stomach, hyperchondries, etc.” — 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.