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guilty

[gil-tee]
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adjective, guilt·i·er, guilt·i·est.
  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.
  3. having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined: a guilty conscience.
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Origin of guilty

before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig. See guilt, -y1
Related formsguilt·i·ly, adverbguilt·i·ness, nouno·ver·guilt·y, adjectivequa·si-guilt·i·ly, adverbqua·si-guilt·y, adjective

Synonyms

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2. criminal, felonious, culpable; illicit, nefarious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for guiltier

Historical Examples

  • If he'd been caught in the act of borin' into the bond safe he couldn't have looked any guiltier.

    Torchy As A Pa

    Sewell Ford

  • I may make myself worse an' guiltier; but unhappier I cannot be.

  • The guiltier Countess was joined in the accusation, and committed in April, 1616.

    Sir Walter Ralegh

    William Stebbing

  • If he returns to darkness, his darkness is blacker and guiltier than before.

  • You have been guilty of great crimes, but you will be guiltier of a greater and a darker still.

British Dictionary definitions for guiltier

guilty

adjective guiltier or guiltiest
  1. responsible for an offence or misdeed
  2. law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done sothe accused was found guilty
  3. plead guilty law (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess
  4. of, showing, or characterized by guilta guilty smile; guilty pleasures
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Derived Formsguiltily, adverbguiltiness, noun
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 guiltier

guilty

adj.

Old English gyltig, from gylt (see guilt (n.)). Of conscience, feelings, etc., 1590s. Meaning "person who is guilty" is from 1540s. To plead not guilty is from 15c.; to plead guilty is 19c., though, as OED notes, "Guilty is technically not a plea, but a confession."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper