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

Today, The Vinoy, part of the Autograph Collection since 2023, seamlessly bridges its gilded past with a polished present. —Katie Lara, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

Outside, cold rain beats against the room’s high, gilded windows. —Billy Perrigo, Time, 27 Aug. 2025

In another one-minute clip by a director named Seyi.KG, brown and dark-skinned women (also looking highly digitized) move sensually across a gilded library in body paint. —Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025

Owen is the exception to the rule, having a gilded career first at Anfield and then at Real Madrid, all while plundering goals for England. —Gregg Evans, New York Times, 27 Aug. 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