gloss

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈgläs

ˈglȯs

Synonyms of gloss next

: a surface luster or brightness : shine

: a deceptively attractive appearance

selfishness that had a gloss of humanitarianism about it

: bright often superficial attractiveness

show-biz gloss

: a viscous usually tinted cosmetic preparation used for adding shine and usually color to the lips : lip gloss

gloss

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verb (1)

glossed; glossing; glosses

transitive verb

: to mask the true nature of : give a deceptively attractive appearance to

—used with over

the misery was general, where not glossed over by liberal application of alcohol—

Marston Bates

: to deal with (a subject or problem) too lightly or not at all

—used with over

glosses over scholarly controversies rather than confronting them head-on—

John Israel

: to give a gloss to

gloss

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noun (2)

: a brief explanation (as in the margin or between the lines of a text) of a difficult or obscure word or expression

: a false and often willfully misleading interpretation (as of a text)

: glossary

: an interlinear translation

: a continuous commentary accompanying a text

: commentary, interpretation

gloss

4 of 4

verb (2)

glossed; glossing; glosses

transitive verb

: to provide a gloss for : explain, define

: interpret

: to dispose of by false or perverse interpretation

trying to gloss away the irrationalities of the universe—

Irwin Edman

Did you know?

The verb gloss, referring to a brief explanation, comes from Greek glôssa, meaning "tongue," "language," or "obscure word." There is also the familiar phrase gloss over, meaning "to deal with (something) too lightly or not at all." That gloss is related to Germanic glosen, "to glow or shine," and comes from the noun gloss, which in English can refer to a shine on a surface or to a superficial attractiveness that is easily dismissed.

Examples of gloss in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His answers typically are straightforward — lacking gloss and glitz — a football coach sounding like a football coach. —

Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2023 In the first video, Joanna, wearing a hard hat over a baseball cap, gives the camera a cheeky smile before embracing the walls finished in black high gloss Venetian plaster. —

Sam Burros, Peoplemag, 4 Sep. 2023 This bunny gloss is hydrating, comes in an array of colors and scents and creates a glossy sheer finish. —

Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 29 Aug. 2023 By producing a film that triggers Gen X and millennial moms’ nostalgia and offers corporate feminism in a goofy, beautiful package, Mattel is putting a new irony-lite gloss on the Barbie brand. —

Alexandra Lange, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2023 The Platinum Black also includes standard power-deploying running boards with a gloss black finish, reflective black lightning badges, and a soft-shell black tonneau cover to hide a Batcycle under. —

Umar Shakir, The Verge, 24 Aug. 2023 The saga of Michael Oher, as told by Lewis, always read like a fantasia, one intended to put the gloss of white saviorhood on a set of events that smacked of racial exploitation. —

Steve Almond, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2023 To achieve lips like Megan, enhance the gloss with lip liner, and for a dewy finish, complement the mist with a no-makeup concealer look. —

India Espy-Jones, Essence, 4 Aug. 2023 What could be more glamorous than a gloss black sink or a ruby red loo? —

Jermaine Gallacher, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2023

Verb

There is this notion that kids are like, [influenced by] Kylie Jenner and this injectable [culture] and have to look presentable and glossed up all the time. —

K.j. Yossman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2023 Her decision is a poignant nod to climate change, but it could also be glossed as a salvo against a controlling parent. —

Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023 Make space on the table for a straightforward tostada mixta glossed with garlicky salsa negra. —

Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023 The wheels were the sole big-ticket option at $3950, while the Night package, which swaps all the exterior brightwork to gloss black, tacked on another $750. —

Andrew Krok, Car and Driver, 13 June 2023 Complementing the dark elegance of her dress is her makeup look: classic minimal eyeliner and a dramatic red lip; her hair, currently a dark blonde, blown out and glossed to within an inch of its life. —

Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 21 Feb. 2023 Don’t overlook a sleeper of Bloomsdale spinach lolling in roasted garlic broth and glossed with brown butter. —

Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2023 As for glam, Teigen slicked back her hair in a middle part, opted for a light makeup look and glossed up her lips. —

Zizi Strater, Peoplemag, 10 May 2023 The good looks extend to the food: a clever duck foie gras beignet glossed with a port wine reduction, marinated Scottish salmon paired with potato slices enlivened with tomato vinaigrette, a snow-white macaron, garnished with raspberries, that’s almost too pretty to eat. —

Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gloss.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

akin to Middle High German glosen to glow, shine; akin to Old English geolu yellow

Noun (2)

alteration (by conformation to its Latin and Greek source) of glose, gloze, going back to Middle English glose, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin glōsa, glōssa "tongue, language, commentary on a word or passage, compilation of such commentaries" (Latin, "collection of unfamiliar words"), borrowed from Greek glôssa, (Attic) glôtta, (Ionic) glássa "tongue, language, obscure word requiring explanation," derivative in *-i̯ā from the stem of a presumed root noun *glṓks "point, something pointed," perhaps going back to an Indo-European nominative *glōgh-s, genitive *gl̥gh-ós; from the same base Greek glôches "awns of a head of grain," glōchī́s "projecting point (as the end of a yoke fastening or the barb of an arrow)"

Note: Despite its Indo-European look, this set of Greek words has no definite congeners in other Indo-European languages; kinship with Slavic *glogŭ "hawthorn" (Czech hloh, Polish głóg, Serbian & Croatian glȍg; Russian glog "dogwood") is uncertain.

Verb (2)

alteration (after gloss entry 3) of glose, gloze, going back to Middle English glosen, borrowed from Anglo-French gloser, borrowed from Medieval Latin glōsāre, glōssāre, verbal derivative of glōsa, glōssa "commentary on a word or passage, compilation of such commentaries" — more at gloss entry 3

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of gloss was in 1538

See more words from the same year