guilt

American  

[gilt] / gɪlt /

noun

1. the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; culpability.

   He admitted his guilt.

   Antonyms:

   innocence

2. a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined.

3. conduct involving the commission of such crimes, wrongs, etc..

   to live a life of guilt.

   Synonyms:

   criminality

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verb (used with object)

Informal.

1. to cause to feel guilty (often followed by out orinto ).

   She totally guilted me out, dude. He guilted me into picking up the tab.

guilt British  

/ ɡɪlt /

noun

1. the fact or state of having done wrong or committed an offence

2. responsibility for a criminal or moral offence deserving punishment or a penalty

3. remorse or self-reproach caused by feeling that one is responsible for a wrong or offence

4. archaic sin or crime

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preguilt
  noun
• nonguilt
  noun

Etymology

Origin of guilt

First recorded before 1000; Middle English gilt, Old English gylt “offense”

Explanation

You experience guilt when you feel bad about doing something wrong or committing some offense. Guilt is also the state of having committed the offense — it's the opposite of "innocence." The noun guilt stems from the Old English word gylt, meaning "crime, sin, fault, or fine." Feelings of guilt are typical after you've done something you shouldn't have, like cheating on your spelling test or stealing from your little brother's piggy bank. We often say that our conscience is the source of this feeling. If you're the prosecuting attorney in a criminal trial, your job is to prove the guilt of the defendant, that is, to prove that they committed the crime you're accusing them of.

Example Sentences

Guilt is pervasive in the opera, Saariaho’s last before her death in 2023, yet it is called “Innocence,” a reflection of its deep humanity, and the idea that tragedy can also encompass survival and forgiveness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Guilt, recrimination and blame won’t help now, and it can be counterproductive.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 28, 2025

Guilt and shame can make these experiences difficult to verbalize or talk about, Mathai said.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2025

Guilt for having been away during the tragedy, mixed with the sense that things could have been so much worse.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2025

Guilt digs its claws into me, but if I go home, confessing my lie before figuring out some astonishingly clever next steps, I’ll be under total house arrest until I turn eighteen in June.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• culpability
• disgrace
• indiscretion
• liability
• regret
• remorse
• responsibility
• shame
• sin
• stigma