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
Etymology
Origin of gilded
before 1000; gild 1 + -ed 2; replacing Middle English gild, Old English gegyld
Explanation
Something gilded looks like gold, whether it is or not. If you've heard the expression "all that glitters is not gold," it's especially true of anything gilded. You might have first heard the word gilded in the name of a historical period in the U.S. known as The Gilded Age; the name suggests that the appearance of wealth concealed actual poverty. Gilded is often used to point out illusion in this way, but if no illusion is intended, it need not be a negative word. I think the gilded doves in your painting are especially lovely.
Vocabulary lists containing gilded
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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Grade 11, List 4
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"Sonnet 55" by William Shakespeare
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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.
For those with financial means, it was a kind of gilded servitude, in which the young sacrificed their waking lives to teachers who primed them for the concert hall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The US president has sought to cement his legacy through changes to the White House, including gilded gold leaf accents in the Oval Office, demolition of the East Wing and construction of a ballroom.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
It is fenced in and gilded, with literal gold.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
The gilded grub became something of a sensation at this year’s Formula One Miami Grand Prix and Miami Open tennis tournament, starring in countless social media videos and selling out at both events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
They were the glass kind, the ones with gilded rims and no handles.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
