glose

Verb

gloze (third-person singular simple present glozes, present participle glozing, simple past and past participle glozed)

1. (literary) To extenuate, explain away, gloss over.
   • Heaven, that I had thy head! he has found the meaning:
     But I will gloze with him.c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry...
2. To use flattering language.
   • […] looke to see the throne where you should sit,
     To floate in bloud, and at thy wanton head,
     The glozing head of thy base minion throwne.1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC...

   Synonyms:

   jolly, lay it on thick, puff, brush up to, collogue, flatter, flatterize, glaver, make fair weather, palaver

3. To smooth over; to palliate by specious explanation.
   • On this ground it is that Christianity works its way in Christianizing a community—if only it have free scope. It does this, not by glozing the evil that is in the world; not by extenuating, or by exaggerating the damage which human nature has sustained; but it does so by raising, in all minds, the...1860, Isaac Taylor, “Ultimate Civilization”, in Ultimate Civilization, and Other Essays, London: Bell & Daldy, page 37
4. To give a shine to (something or someone).
   • The scanty light glozed them with the glory of day, and, forgetful of pain and thirst and hunger, and of the menace of death, they sank upon the floor and cried, keeping fast hold of each other the while.1880, Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, Book 6, Chapter 2

See all 8 meanings of gloze