1
: a surface luster or brightness : shine
2
a
: a deceptively attractive appearance
selfishness that had a gloss of humanitarianism about it
b
: bright often superficial attractiveness
show-biz gloss
3
: a viscous usually tinted cosmetic preparation used for adding shine and usually color to the lips : lip gloss
glossed; glossing; glosses
1
a
: 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
Marston Bates
b
: 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
John Israel2
: to give a gloss to
1
a
: a brief explanation (as in the margin or between the lines of a text) of a difficult or obscure word or expression
b
: a false and often willfully misleading interpretation (as of a text)
2
3
glossed; glossing; glosses
2
: to dispose of by false or perverse interpretation
trying to gloss away the irrationalities of the universe—Irwin Edman
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.
Synonyms
Examples of gloss in a Sentence
Noun (1)
used a computer to give her astrological predictions the gloss of real science
the surface has such a high gloss, you can see your face reflected in it
Verb (1)
I don't want to gloss over her misbehavior, but keep in mind that she's been under a lot of stress lately
this biographer tends to gloss over his subject's many character flaws
Recent Examples on the Web
Annie Blay, Allure, 28 Jan. 2025
Feng highlights that relationship by creating a palpable disconnect between the flashiness of her film’s style — its interstitial segments adopting the gloss and pop of a modern Chinese rom-com — and the salt-of-the-earth hopelessness of her characters.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
Mike Jones, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
At Carolina Herrera, lightly glossed plum lip stains took centre stage, while at Grace Ling, lips were dressed in an understated nude, blurred at the edges.
—Rebecca Fearn, refinery29.com, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for gloss 
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Noun
Glossy lip products had a big moment last year, and Chang was not immune to the hype—though instead of the popular glosses and tinted balms that went viral stateside, Chang fell in love with the Korean makeup brand Amuse’s Dew Tint.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 28 Jan. 2025
Feng highlights that relationship by creating a palpable disconnect between the flashiness of her film’s style — its interstitial segments adopting the gloss and pop of a modern Chinese rom-com — and the salt-of-the-earth hopelessness of her characters.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
Kraft didn’t, however, admit to glossing right over all of his deficiencies and also failing to create a plan to develop the coach along with his team, once his initial plan for a successful succession went awry.
—Mike Jones, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
At Carolina Herrera, lightly glossed plum lip stains took centre stage, while at Grace Ling, lips were dressed in an understated nude, blurred at the edges.
—Rebecca Fearn, refinery29.com, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for gloss
Articles Related to gloss
Dictionary Entries Near gloss
Cite this Entry
“Gloss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gloss. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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