Definition of: unction

(ungk′shən) noun
1. The act of anointing, as with oil.
2. Eccl. a A ceremonial anointing with oil, as in consecration or dedication, b The sacramental rite of anointing the sick, reserved in the Roman Catholic Church for those in danger of death: also called extreme unction.
3. The act of treating medicinally by anointing.
4. A substance used in anointing, as an unguent or a salve; something that soothes or palliates.
5. The quality or characteristic of speech, especially in religious discourse, that awakens or is intended to awaken deep sympathetic feeling; sometimes, effusive or affected emotion. [<F onction <L unctio, -onis <ungere anoint]
—unc′·tion·less adjective