gilded
Americanadjective
-
covered or highlighted with gold or something of a golden color.
-
having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth.
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Additional pieces contain Murakami’s reimaginings of gilded floral motifs by Katsushika Hokusai, Ogata Korin and Ogata Kenzan; as well as the beautiful women rendered by Kikukawa Eizan.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
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 • Feb. 2, 2026
The first time Donald Trump appears in the film, he is a voice coming through Melania’s iPhone as she sits at a gilded desk in their Fifth Avenue penthouse.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
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 • Jan. 19, 2026
Three servants march forward with a gilded mirror.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
