oily

CEFRB1

/ˈɔɪli/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Covered with or containing oil.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Excessively friendly or polite but insincere.

Examples

  • I didn't eat all the fries because they were too oily.

  • My clothes have an oily smell because I ate at an okonomiyaki place.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Resembling oil.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A marble with an oily lustre.

  2. Oilskins. (waterproof garment)

More examples

In context

  • oily machinery; oily rags; oily fish; oily cooking

  • She has oily skin.

  • Near-synonyms: slick, buttery; smarmy

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After fixing the leaky engine, his hands were blank and needed washing.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English oylei, equivalent to oil + -y. Compare German ölig (“oily”), Swedish oljig (“oily”).