guilty

[gil-tee]

adjective

guiltier, guiltiest 

1. having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; justly subject to a certain accusation or penalty; culpable.

   The jury found her guilty of murder.

2. characterized by, connected with, or involving guilt.

   guilty intent.

   Synonyms: nefarious, illicit, culpable, felonious, criminal

3. having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined.

   a guilty conscience.

guilty

/ ˈɡɪltɪ /

adjective

1. responsible for an offence or misdeed

2. law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done so

   the accused was found guilty

3. law (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess

4. of, showing, or characterized by guilt

   a guilty smile

   guilty pleasures

Other Word Forms

• guiltily adverb
• guiltiness noun
• overguilty adjective
• quasi-guiltily adverb
• quasi-guilty adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of guilty¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig; equivalent to guilt + -y ¹

Example Sentences

James Comey, the former director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has pleaded not guilty to making false statements to lawmakers and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

Read more on BBC

Norris and one other man, Gary Dobson, are the only people to have been found guilty of the murder, with four other suspects never convicted.

Read more on BBC

Sutherland was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, and was remanded in custody pending sentence.

Read more on BBC

Mr Villafane was found not guilty of one charge of wounding with intent.

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In June, Lira pleaded guilty in Illinois federal court to one count of contempt of court for defying a Chicago judge’s order concerning the distribution of settlement funds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• convicted 
• culpable 
• liable 
• remorseful 
• responsible 
• sorry 
• wrong 

When To Use

What does guilty mean?

If you’re guilty, it means you were responsible for doing something wrong, especially a crime. If you’re found guilty, it means a jury has officially decided that you committed a crime. If you feel guilty, it means you feel bad about something you shouldn’t have done or should have done but didn’t.In a legal context, guilty is the opposite of innocent (not guilty). It is often used in an official sense, but not always.Example: Once when I was a kid I shoplifted a stick of gum from the store and felt so guilty about it that I was crying by the time I got home.