guilt

[gilt]

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noun

the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; culpability: He admitted his guilt.

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

conduct involving the commission of such crimes, wrongs, etc.: to live a life of guilt.

verb (used with object) Informal.

to cause to feel guilty (often followed by out or into): She totally guilted me out, dude. He guilted me into picking up the tab.See also guilt-trip.

Nearby words

Origin of guilt

before 1000; Middle English gilt, Old English gylt offense

SYNONYMS FOR guilt

3. criminality.

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ANTONYMS FOR guilt

1. innocence.

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Related formsnon·guilt, nounpre·guilt, noun

Can be confusedgild gilt guild guilt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for guilt

Guilt, when dispensed in the circumstances Morris occupied, is the anti-Viagra.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Instead of lights and gifts, this one is filled with broken promises and guilt.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Police then lied to Henry by telling him that if he admitted his guilt, he could go home.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Although often this is considered proof positive of guilt at trial, it is not an uncommon occurrence in false confessions.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Perhaps my outrage at the men defending Cosby springs from my own feelings of guilt.
What Trait Do Bill Cosby’s Defenders Share?|Dean Obeidallah|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It removed his guilt, hushed his fears, and filled him with joy and peace in believing.
The Great Commission|C. H. (Charles Henry) Mackintosh
The image of his child, I believe, saved him many times from folly, more than once from guilt.
Contraband|G. J. Whyte-Melville
I direct these lines to be transmitted to thee—an eternal proof of thy innocence and my guilt.
Calderon The Courtier|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
You mean that the authorities are not convinced of my guilt, in spite of the evidence?
The Case of the Registered Letter|Augusta Groner
It was not so much the question of guilt or innocence that affected her now, but the shame of it all.
When Dreams Come True|Ritter Brown

British Dictionary definitions for guilt

guilt

noun

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

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

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

archaic sin or crime

Word Origin for guilt

Old English gylt, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for guilt

guilt

Old English gylt "crime, sin, fault, fine," of unknown origin, though some suspect a connection to Old English gieldan "to pay for, debt," but OED editors find this "inadmissible phonologically." The mistaken use for "sense of guilt" is first recorded 1680s. Guilt by association recorded by 1919.

guilt

"to influence someone by appealing to his sense of guiltiness," by 1995, from guilt (n.). Related: Guilted; guilting. Old English also had a verbal form, gyltan "to commit an offense."

guilt

noun

verb (used with object) Informal.

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Origin of guilt

Examples from the Web for guilt

guilt

noun

Word Origin for guilt

guilt

guilt