gilded

American

[gil-did] / ˈgɪl dɪd /

adjective

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

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.

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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.

In the lavish memorial erected by his grieving widow, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert is golden, but few world leaders are permanently gilded, and certainly not before their deaths.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

On this year’s occasion, Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a gilded statue of the former president.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

The veteran Scot stood down after winning the club's 20th English league crown following two decades of domestic dominance gilded by European success.

From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026

Like she was a gilded winged apsara he’d just come upon in the woods.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

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