guilty pleasure
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of guilty pleasure
First recorded in 1680–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Share your souvenir guilty pleasure with me at [email protected] and we’ll publish some in a future newsletter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
It’s my guilty pleasure and helps me unwind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Treat the Trader Joe’s freezer aisle — or your local equivalent — as infrastructure, not a guilty pleasure.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
Dawson's Creek was my guilty pleasure in the late 90s.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
“The life of a scythe would be dreadful if we didn’t allow ourselves the guilty pleasure of a hobby. Mine is cooking.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.