Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A highly viscous or semisolid substance used on the skin as a cosmetic, emollient, or medicament; a salve.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A fatty or unctuous preparation of such a consistency as to be easily applied to the skin by inunction, gradually liquefying when in contact with it. In American pharmacy, ointments differ from the cerates, which are of similar composition, in having a softer consistence and lower melting-temperature. In British pharmacy, the cerates are included among the ointments.
- n. Spermaceti, white wax, oil of almonds, and glycerin.
- n. In the German pharmacopoeia, glycerite of starch.
Wiktionary
- n. medicine A viscous preparation of oils and/or fats, usually containing medication, used as a treatment or as an emollient.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. That which serves to anoint; any soft unctuous substance used for smearing or anointing; an unguent.
WordNet 3.0
Etymologies
- A later form (as if oint + -ment) of oinement, from Old French oignement ("an anointing"), from oigner, oindre, ongier ("to anoint"), from Latin unguere, ungere ("to anoint"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English oinement, from Old French oignement, from Vulgar Latin *unguimentum, from Latin unguentum; see unguent. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The real fly in the ointment is that fact that you can be guaranteed to have a Lib Dem conference spoilt each year by some nutty motion which might attract the headlines, but puts the party in the dock with the public.”
What do party conferences achieve outside of political circles ?
“Maybe if Mommy would rub the Desytin ointment in real good he would be able to answer questions.”
Think Progress » Ridge Defends Napolitano From Right-Wing Attacks: The Criticisms Are ‘Misplaced’
“A very important fly in the ointment is that many German producers opt out of the official system and have their private systems, e.g. Grosses Gewächs, etc. with no dryness/sweetness indicator; one is supposed to know and perhaps Germans, to whom most of these are sold, do know?”
“Periocular ulcerative dermatitis associated with gentamicin ointment prophylaxis in newborns.”
“The fly in the ointment is that in a lot of the foreclosure-heavy areas, that $1500-$1800 spread is actually $1500-$4200, after the two year teaser rate mortgage has reset and the rate jumps.”
“The only fly in the ointment is that despite their good college grades and creditable LSATs, a substantial fraction of the class comes to law school unable to write as well as they think or speak.”
Discourse.net: Ten Reasons Why You Should Teach Here -- And Three Why You Shouldn't (v. 2.0)
“I have skin as thin as an onion, but I assure you this cream was the thing that really promoted healing of my breasts, I used it and lanolin but it was easier to tolerate because the nipple ointment is so soft and the lanolin made me scream to get it spread on.”
“If betamethasone ointment is unavailable, mometasone ointment (15 grams) can be used instead.”
“Of course the fly in the ointment is that publishing content is not as simple as just creating that content and hitting 'GO'.”
“The only fly in the conversational ointment is that you are under the cosh to deliver 13 favourites at the end of it all.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ointment’.
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Things that Can (and Should) be set O...
The words piano and sister may not appear on this list. It all started on flaming piano.
bottled water, dudley moore, wads of unpaid bills, casu marzu factories, pogroms, frozen pizzas, breakable glass f..., cacophonists, intransigents, belligerent smurfs, police academy re..., unidentified samp... and 103 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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RELI - words with Biblical connotations
Words in the Bible evoking biblical stories or with special spiritual meaning. Proper names have been reduced to the minimum.
ark, judgement, holy, saint, baptism, spirit, love, eternal, altar, balsam, covenant, flood and 1115 more...
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RELI - words you immediately associat...
advent, almighty, altar, anoint, apostle, archangel, ark, Balaam, baptism, baptist, baptize, begotten and 341 more...
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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The Fixer
Got a problem? Find the solution here. All the words herelisted are guaranteed to make other stuff better. If not satisfied see John for your money back or go ask Abby.
ointment, nice cup of tea, hammer, hug, vacation, duct tape, the Marines, monkey wrench, chocolate, clean socks, bubble wrap, the argyle cold w... and 13 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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I Hate Perfume
I'm setting off with real perfume names as bestowed by Christopher Brosius of I Hate Perfume. But perhaps wordies can help him come up with some more?
in the library, winter 1972, i am a dandelion, russian caravan tea, wild hunt, mr hulot's holiday, fire from heaven, eternal return, burning leaves, in the summer kit..., just breathe, memory of kindness and 52 more...
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vile, so vile!
the bad, and the ugly...
moist, wet, ointment, chunk, saliva, damp, lick, runny, piddle, salivate, clammy, crust and 4 more...
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Cinnamony Sea Anemones & Co.
Words full of m's and n's are a little-known cure for sadness.
aeschynomenous, monomoy, zamzummim, abdominous, abhominal, abonnement, acetaminophen, acetophenone, adenomyoma, aeronomer, agnominal, albuminimeter and 229 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, O
opacity, opaline, olfactory, orthoepy, orthoepy, oleaginous, obloquy, oasitic, obtrude, orthotic, overweening, ostinato and 125 more...
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Unfortunately Necessary Words
Words we have to use all the time, but that doesn't mean they sound good. In fact, they kind of suck. See also this list.
milk, cheese, neck, teeth, moist, dry, skin, head, feet, mouth, frankly, hair and 97 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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Words I like
This is a list of my favourite words (phrases) in english, as a second language. I love them mostly because of how they sound and their meaning.
ninja, cookie, skill, zip, plentiful, digg, debris, pancake, cucumber, fetch, pot, backpack and 461 more...
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Two years
Okay, I admit it. I made a list of words my daughter knew when she was two years old.
bat, baba, a, abalone, about, acorn, adrienne, after, again, airplane, alison, all and 694 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ointment.
blafferty Clearly you people are deliberately creating the need for ointment with all your mess. Apr 27, 2011
reesetee *stumbles over dontcry's liberal scattering of Fs* Dec 5, 2010
dontcry *fetches far-flung fuflun fragments for future feasts* Dec 3, 2010
ruzuzu *collects any far-flung fufluns, then reports back to an unmarked car over on book-number* Dec 3, 2010
reesetee *storms in on milton-bradley fighting vehicle*
Hey! No ointmenting of fufluns, ruseless or not!
Why of all the....
*takes umbrage and rumbles out* Dec 3, 2010
ruzuzu *smiles* Dec 3, 2010
ruzuzu What's so evil about that? Dec 3, 2010
ruzuzu The ointment reserves in Qatar and Russia should keep my FIFA friends rolling in soothing relief for years to come.... Dec 3, 2010
Prolagus I recognize an evil smile when I read one. Dec 3, 2010
ruzuzu *smiles* Dec 2, 2010
ruzuzu *inquires about the balance of a certain account in the Cayman Islands* Dec 2, 2010
ruzuzu *arranges secret meeting between FIFA officials and ointment manufacturers* Dec 2, 2010
pterodactyl Brackets around "ointmenting", please. :-) Dec 2, 2010
ruzuzu Ah, Mr. Prolagus, you are a worthy opponent. Bravo! You've found me out. My ointmenting of fufluns was all just an elaborate ruse. Dec 2, 2010
Prolagus Perhaps ruzuzu is a FIFA infiltrator. Dec 2, 2010
ruzuzu Hey! That's my umbrage! Dec 2, 2010
pterodactyl Gasp! I take umbrage, mollusque, at your baseful accusations. Dec 2, 2010
ruzuzu *frosts fufluns with ointment and prepares to fire, thinks of some reason not to fire, feels umbrage again, then just wanders off* Dec 2, 2010
pterodactyl Ruzuzu, you're either with us, or against us. If our great nation becomes apathetic about words like ointment, then the terrorists have won. Dec 2, 2010
mollusque Pterodactyl, you haven't listed freedom, so I can only conclude that you hate it too. Dec 2, 2010
ruzuzu Umbrage! What about those of us who don't care one way or the other? Dec 2, 2010
pterodactyl "Ointment" currently appears on 16 lists with negative themes ("Words I Dislike", "Words I Hate", "Words I Hate With the Fire of a Thousand Suns", etc.), and only 4 lists with positive themes ("Words I Like", etc.).
The only possible explanation for this shameful attack and scurrilous slander of a lovely and wonderful word is that reesetee and I (and dornyika and janicemc) are the only sane users on Wordnik. The rest of you are all quite clearly insane. And you probably hate freedom, too. Dec 2, 2010
hernesheir One sometimes wishes there was an ointment for stupid. Dec 2, 2010
bilby Lots of bad vibe for ointment judging by the list titles. May 13, 2009
reesetee And you did! :-) Mar 4, 2008
muamor Strong urge to write oinkment here. Mar 4, 2008