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

The Constitutional Convention was symbolically presided over by the retired Gen. George Washington, who sat throughout in a chair with a gilded half sun at its top.

From The Wall Street Journal

A centrist with conservative leanings on the economy and foreign policy, he became a social-media celebrity last March when he delivered an impassioned eight-minute speech in the Senate’s gilded chamber.

From The Wall Street Journal

The markets already are calling the potential Scottish bonds “kilts,” a play on the word used for British bonds, named “gilts” after the gilded borders on old bond certificates.

From The Wall Street Journal

The days when dictators could live in gilded exile with fortunes in secret Swiss bank accounts are mostly over, primarily because of global mechanisms for adjudicating human-rights abuses and tracking ill-gotten gains.

From The Wall Street Journal

In fact, over the last 50-plus years, a gilded gallery of the well-to-do have tried and spectacularly failed.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• luxurious
• ornate