anointed
/əˈnɔɪn.tɪd/
anointed is the simple past and past participle of anoint.
Adjective
anointed (not comparable)
Meaning of anoint
Verb
anoint (third-person singular simple present anoints, present participle anointing, simple past and past participle anointed)
- To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance; also, to spread over, as oil.
- He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 9:6
- To apply oil to or to pour oil upon, etc., as a sacred rite, especially for consecration.
- Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his [Aaron's] head and anoint him.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 29:7
- Synonyms:
- salve
- To choose or nominate somebody for a leading or otherwise important position, especially formally or officially, or as an intended successor.
- Unlike other previous Prelates, who were swiftly anointed bishops, Francis did not follow suit. Ocáriz remained a Monsignor. In the eyes of many observers, it was a demotion of Opus Dei.2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18
- To mark somebody as an official ruler, especially a king or queen, as a part of a religious ceremony.
Noun
anointed (plural anointeds)
- A person who has been anointed, especially religiously.
Forms of anointed
| plural | anointeds |
|---|
Words formed from anointed
Questions about anointed
- What does anointed mean?
- Anointed means having undergone the process of anointing.
- What is anointed the simple past and past participle of?
- Anointed is the simple past and past participle of anoint.
- What part of speech is anointed?
- Anointed can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce anointed?
- Anointed is pronounced /əˈnɔɪn.tɪd/.
Words near anointed in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: anointed (page history and authors); anoint (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-anointed.wav.
Cite this entry: “anointed.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/anointed. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
