guilt trip

¹ American  

noun

1. Informal. a feeling of guilt or responsibility, especially one not justified by reality.

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guilt-trip ² American  

[gilt-trip] / ˈgɪltˌtrɪp /

verb (used with object)

guilt-tripped, guilt-tripping

1. Informal. to attempt to instill a guilt trip in; play upon the guilt feelings of.

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Etymology

Origin of guilt-trip

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Ms. Goodman finds the right measure of sugar in this novel-in-stories depicting three generations of Rubinsteins, an East Coast Jewish-American clan tenuously bound by love, ritual and guilt trips.

From The Wall Street Journal

"She always used to guilt trip us about it."

From BBC

She even defies her father when he tries and fails to guilt trip her into not going to Sarah Lawrence.

From Salon

This paradox is Thomson’s central concern throughout the book, but that doesn’t mean “The Fatal Alliance” is a book-length guilt trip.

From Los Angeles Times

But following the children in these fictions, who didn’t create the conditions of their suffering, isn’t just a devastating guilt trip.

From New York Times