oily

/ˈɔɪli/

/ˈɔɪli/

Other forms: oiliest; oilily; oilier

Oily things are greasy, slippery, or covered with oil — think a bowl of oily pasta or the oily garage floor after you've been tinkering with your motorcycle's engine.

Anything containing oil, covered in oil, or resembling oil is oily. A batch of muffins might taste weirdly oily when you use too much butter, and the rags lying around a car repair shop are mostly black and oily. Your brother's hair will probably be pretty oily after he refuses to wash it for a month. Since the sixteenth century, oily has also had the figurative meaning of "insincerely flattering or slick," like an oily car salesman.

Definitions of oily

1. adjective

   containing an unusual amount of grease or oil
   “oily fried potatoes”

   synonyms: greasy, oleaginous, sebaceous, unctuous

   fat, fatty

   containing or composed of fat
2. adjective

   coated or covered with oil
   “oily puddles in the streets”

   synonyms:

   coated

   having a coating; covered with an outer layer or film; often used in combination
3. adjective

   smeared or soiled with grease or oil
   “get rid of rubbish and oily rags”

   synonyms: greasy

   dirty, soiled, unclean

   soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
4. adjective

   unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
   “an oily sycophantic press agent”

   synonyms: buttery, fulsome, oleaginous, smarmy, soapy, unctuous

   insincere

   lacking sincerity