gilded

adjective

gild·​ed ˈgil-dəd 

1

: covered or tinged with gold or a golden color

gilded icons

The reception room, just off the entryway, features colorful wall and ceiling decorations and a gilded overmantel mirror and matching cornices.

—Stephen May

2

: having a background of wealth and luxury : prosperous, luxurious

Emily Post was raised among New York's gilded elite.

—Susan Berfield

… despite the upper-crust background and the gilded résumé, Bonham Carter is a pretty modern chick off stage.

—Elizabeth Gleick

Examples of gilded in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

From the gilded cash registers adorned with golden nifflers to the giant-friendly floo-powder fireplace in the queue for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, every detail is impeccable. —Samantha Neely, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2025

Visitors can walk down a Titanic hallway, snap pictures next to a gilded statue, and sit in a simulated lifeboat while watching the ship sink. —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2025

Now on the market for a speck under $6 million with Coldwell Banker Warburg brokers Andrea Wernick, Arlene Reed, and Rebecca Blacker, this grand duplex is a chapter straight out of New York’s gilded past. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2025

The lobby dazzles with gilded mosaics and Italian marble. —Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of gild entry 1

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gilded

• builded