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Synonyms

gild

1 American  
[gild] / gɪld /

verb (used with object)

gilded, gilt, gilding

  1. to coat with gold, gold leaf, or a gold-colored substance.

  2. to give a bright, pleasing, or specious aspect to.

  3. Archaic. to make red, as with blood.

idioms

  1. gild the lily, to add unnecessary ornamentation, a special feature, etc., in an attempt to improve something that is already complete, satisfactory, or ideal.

    After that wonderful meal, serving a fancy dessert would be gilding the lily.
gild 2 American  
[gild] / gɪld /

noun

  1. guild.

gild 1 British  
/ ɡɪld /

verb

  1. to cover with or as if with gold

    1. to adorn unnecessarily something already beautiful

    2. to praise someone inordinately

  3. to give a falsely attractive or valuable appearance to

  4. archaic to smear with blood

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
gild 2 British  
/ ɡɪld /

noun

  1. a variant spelling of guild

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • gildable adjective
  • gilder noun
  • gildsman noun

Etymology

Origin of gild

1300–50; Middle English gilden, Old English -gyldan; akin to gold

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There's no reason for anything superfluous to gild the lily.

From Salon • Sep. 27, 2023

If you feel you need to gild the lily, then keep working.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2023

Overall, the official said, “I don’t want to gild the lily. . . . We’ve had questions to answer. But I think we are providing answers . . . not only words of reassurance, but also joint action.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 16, 2021

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas asked if he intended to gild the subway tracks.

From New York Times • Jul. 30, 2021

He would sing the glory of Hrothgar’s line and gild his wisdom and stir up his men to more daring deeds, for a price.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.