gild
Cover in gold
To gild is to cover with gold or a gold-colored substance: gilded picture frames, a gilded dome.
The past participle gilded also works as an adjective suggesting wealth and luxury, often with irony: the Gilded Age, gilded cages.
To gild the lily is to add unnecessary ornamentation to something already beautiful or sufficient.
The noun form is gilt.
Identity-concealing alteration
- veneerDecorative outer layer
- façadeFalse outward appearance
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
gloss over · whitewash · cover-up · embellish · exaggerate · sugarcoat · spin · misrepresent
Faint reflected light
- lusterSoft reflected light
- sheenSoft surface luster
- shimmerTremulous, wavering light
- glintBrief bright reflection
sparkle · brilliance · glow · shine · glitter · burnish · polish · brightness
Electrically depositing metal layers
- giltCovered with gold
- overlayCovering placed atop
- leafingCasually turning pages
- burnishingSmoothing by friction
vermeil · ormolu · goldwork · mordant · bole · gesso · size · burnisher
Decorative additions to something
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- adornmentDecorative addition or accessory
- filigreeDelicate twisted-wire ornamentation
- flourishTo grow vigorously
inlay · illumination · tracery · scrollwork · arabesque · rococo · baroque · cartouche
Expensive nonessential comfort
- extravaganceExcessive, wasteful spending
- grandeurImpressive splendor and scale
- magnificenceImpressive beauty or scale
- sumptuousnessExtreme costly elegance
richness · elegance · splendor · lavishness · affluence · prosperity · decadence · ostentation
disguise
Identity-concealing alteration
- veneerDecorative outer layer
- façadeFalse outward appearance
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
pretense · gloss over · whitewash · cover-up · embellish · exaggerate · sugarcoat · spin · misrepresent · prettify
gleam
Faint reflected light
glint · sparkle · brilliance · glow · shine · glitter · burnish · polish · brightness · resplendence
electroplating
Electrically depositing metal layers
burnishing · vermeil · ormolu · goldwork · mordant · bole · gesso · size · burnisher · agate
ornamentation
Decorative additions to something
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- adornmentDecorative addition or accessory
- filigreeDelicate twisted-wire ornamentation
flourish · inlay · illumination · tracery · scrollwork · arabesque · rococo · baroque · cartouche · acanthus
luxury
Expensive nonessential comfort
- extravaganceExcessive, wasteful spending
- grandeurImpressive splendor and scale
- magnificenceImpressive beauty or scale
sumptuousness · richness · elegance · splendor · lavishness · affluence · prosperity · decadence · ostentation · palatial
- art verbsdraw, paint, sketch, sculpt, carve
- coloringcoloring book, dye, colorize, coloring books, coloring page
- sugarcoatingsweeten, soften, gloss over, whitewash, soft-pedal
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- decoratedecorate, adorn, beautify, embellish, ornament
- trick outtrick out, tricked out, soup up, pimp out, pimped out
- gilded framesGold-coated picture enclosures
- gilded cageLuxurious confinement lacking liberty
- gilding the lilyEmbellishing the already beautiful
- gild the lilyEmbellish what's already perfect
- gilded ageFlashy era hiding corruption
- gilded the lilyEmbellished something already beautiful