Definition

1. Verb:
   • To apply oil or ointment to a person or object, typically as part of a religious ritual or ceremony of consecration, blessing, or healing. This is the original and most specific meaning.
   • To choose or designate someone for a particular role, office, or position, especially in a way that suggests divine favor, formal approval, or special honor. This is a figurative extension of the religious meaning.

Usage and Examples

• Verb (Religious/Physical Application):
  • The priest will anoint the baby's forehead with holy oil during the baptism.
  • In ancient times, healers would anoint wounds with herbal ointments.
• Verb (Figurative - To Choose Formally):
  • The board of directors anointed her as the company's next CEO.
  • He was anointed the party's candidate for the upcoming election.

Advanced Usage

• "to anoint someone with something": Specifies the substance used.
  • The prophet anointed the king with sacred oil.
• "to anoint someone as something": Specifies the role or title being conferred.
  • The movement anointed him as their spiritual leader.
• Passive Voice: Commonly used, especially in the figurative sense.
  • The young pianist was anointed as the heir to the classical music throne.

Variants and Related Words

• Anointed (adjective or past participle): Formally chosen or consecrated.
  • The anointed king addressed his people. (Here, "anointed" functions as an adjective describing the king.)
• Anointer (noun): A person who anoints.
• Anointment (noun): The act of anointing or the condition of being anointed.
  • The anointment ceremony was solemn and beautiful.

Synonyms

• Consecrate: To make or declare something sacred. (More formal, religious)
• Bless: To confer divine favor. (Broader, less specific to oil)
• Ordain: To invest with ministerial or priestly authority. (Specific to religious office)
• Appoint: To assign a job or role to someone. (Neutral, secular)
• Crown: To ceremonially invest with royal power. (Specific to monarchy)

Phrasal Verbs / Common Collocations

• Anoint with: This is the standard construction for the physical act.
  • Anoint the altar with oil.
• Anoint as: This is the standard construction for the figurative act of designation.
  • Anoint a successor as the new leader.

Related Idioms

• The Lord's Anointed: A biblical term referring to a messiah or a king chosen by God. Used figuratively to refer to someone treated with great reverence or as if chosen by a higher power.
  • He carried himself with the confidence of the Lord's anointed.

Verb

1. administer an oil or ointment to; often in a religious ceremony of blessing
2. choose by or as if by divine intervention
   • She was anointed the head of the Christian fundamentalist group