[tin.sel] n [MF estincelle, estancele, etincelle spark, glitter, spangle--more at stencil] (1538) 1: a thread, strip, or sheet of metal, paper, or plastic used to produce a glittering and sparkling appearance in fabrics, yarns, or decorations
2: something superficially attractive or glamorous but of little real worth "disfigured by no gaudy ~ of rhetoric or declamation --Thomas Jefferson"
[2]tinsel adj (1575) 1: made of or covered with tinsel
2. a: cheaply gaudy: tawdry b: specious "~ promises" [3]tinsel vt tin.seled or tin.selled ; tin.sel.ing or tin.sel.ling (1594) 1: to interweave, overlay, or adorn with or as if with tinsel
2: to impart a specious brightness to