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

In addition to a photo of Long getting down on one knee in a gilded room and pulling out a ring, Jackson shared more flicks from the special moment on her Instagram Stories. —Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Whether groovy or stripped down, or even accompanied by a Mexican trío, boleros possess a sound that seems saturated with gilded, timeless qualities. —Vita Dadoo, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025

More Money-saving Tips As a fashion capital, Paris is a city people visit specifically for shopping the gilded grands magasins department stores like Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette, as well as haute flagships like Hermès and Louis Vuitton. —Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 26 July 2025

Seemingly buying the best of the best corporations to buy and hold would seemingly be the path to a gilded retirement? —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 26 July 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