Marston BatesJohn IsraelIrwin Edman
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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
Ben Croll, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
His lawyers are saying that even using this law against him would require judicial gloss to charge him.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The formula, which nourishes with a blend of vitamin E and shea oil, imparts a light-catching gloss.
—Deanna Pai, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
The songs draw little inspiration from the various musical eras traversed by the story, instead maintaining a pleasant and palatable contemporary gloss.
—Naveen Kumar, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
There will also be plenty of lips coated in slick glosses, like the new Armani Beauty Prisma Gloss collection, in 2024.
—Jessica Ourisman, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Whereas most pop songs utilize at least a modicum of gloss to conceal the thirstiest elements of the human condition, this thing sounded like it was shot full of caffeine and truth serum.
—Chris Richards, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
This gloss hydrates and gives lips that coveted full look.
—Hyphensocial Contributors, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
The report also put an even shinier gloss on job growth for 2023, including revisions that added more than 100,000 to the figure previously tallied for December.
—Lydia Depillis, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024
Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 26 Dec. 2023
The front bumper is sportier, and gloss black accents are used in place of chrome, as well as on the aerodynamic bits like the various air vents and diffusers.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
Zappos also has classic Hunter glossed rain boots for dreary in-between weather, and for drier days, the stylish Bearpaw Emma Tall Youth Boots are as low as $20 right now.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 27 Dec. 2023
Get the recipe > Espresso Waffles with Mocha Drizzle
Espresso powder and almond flour give a bittersweet edge to these waffles, which are glossed with a decadent sauce of coffee, condensed milk, and dark chocolate.
—Megan Zhang, Saveur, 21 Dec. 2023
The panelists then put their biographical expertise to use by glossing the fiction writers who most inspired Roth, especially from a young age.
—Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
Smoke & Dough draws on that heritage and its savory-sweet palette, and answers the question of what true Miami barbecue might taste like: ribs glossed with guava-ancho barbecue sauce, brisket rubbed with Cuban coffee, housemade pastrami tequeños, black beans baked with pineapple.
—Melissa Clark, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2023
L’oreal Professionnel Liss Control Serum was used to gloss the ends of braids.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 21 Sep. 2023
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
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
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
Phrases Containing gloss
Articles Related to gloss
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Cite this Entry
“Gloss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gloss. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on gloss
Nglish: Translation of gloss for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of gloss for Arabic Speakers
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