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 the restaurant’s gilded ice-cream parlor, diners availed themselves of eleven flavors, along with Irish coffee and lemon ice doused in vodka. —Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024

The vaults are almost entirely rebuilt and cleaned, a new gilded copper rooster is perched atop the finished tip of the spire, and the wooden attic is redone. —Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024

The raid is the latest and most serious threat to his gilded lifestyle. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024

Coco Chanel lived here for 30 years; Ernest Hemingway famously equated it to heaven; and a swirl of luminary guests from the 20th century graced its gilded hallways. —Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2024

The gilded lobby, accented by marble and crystal chandeliers, is like stepping back in time. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024

The three-time nominee took home the gilded trophy for his supporting role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which won big, scooping up seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 11 Mar. 2024

But before any gilded gramophones are handed out, the biggest names in music are walking the red carpet in capital-F Fashion. —Vogue, 4 Feb. 2024

In 1988, Newel supplied the gilded palm trees that formed the chuppa at Laura Steinberg and Jonathan Tisch’s wedding, as well as $250,000 worth of Louis XV bronze centerpieces and candelabra to accessorize the reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. —Penelope Green, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of gild entry 1

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1