gilded

American  

[gil-did] / ˈgɪl dɪd /

adjective

1. covered or highlighted with gold or something of a golden color.

2. having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth.

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Other Word Forms

• nongilded adjective
• ungilded adjective

Etymology

Origin of gilded

before 1000; gild ¹ + -ed ²; replacing Middle English gild, Old English gegyld

Example Sentences

As an aide hovers, reminding Mr. Walesa that he must depart soon for his next appointment, I ask about a gilded statuette that sits on a table next to him.

From The Wall Street Journal

The chumminess among some of the gilded people in Epstein’s circle has landed at an acutely populist moment.

From The Wall Street Journal

The restaurant is unapologetically gilded, from the walls to the Japanese kintsugi–inspired plates, which reference the tradition of repairing broken pottery with gold.

From Salon

I land, rump first, on what appears to be a gilded box owned by a pinch-faced peacock of a woman.

From Literature

Gu, who specialises in carving the heads of Buddha sculptures, proudly showed off the subtle expressions on the faces of a row of gilded figures in her storeroom.

From Barron's

Related Words

• luxurious
• ornate