guilty

[ gil-tee ]

/ ˈgɪl ti /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: guilty / guiltiness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, guilt·i·er, guilt·i·est.

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.

characterized by, connected with, or involving guilt: guilty intent.

having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined: a guilty conscience.

OTHER WORDS FOR guilty

2 criminal, felonious, culpable; illicit, nefarious.

See synonyms for guilty on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of guilty

before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig.See guilt, -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM guilty

guilt·i·ly, adverbguilt·i·ness, nouno·ver·guilt·y, adjectivequa·si-guilt·i·ly, adverb

quasi-guilty, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use guilty in a sentence

More recently, he had been found guilty in a marijuana case and faced pending charges for trafficking in fentanyl, according to records.
Fugitive who died in gun battle with Md. police killed his estranged girlfriend in Fla., authorities say|Dan Morse|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
The last antitrust case presented against a large technology company was in 1998 when Microsoft was, ultimately, found guilty of abusing monopoly power.
The rise of vertical search engines|Andrew Bocskocsky|November 13, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Regardless of intention, the clips are illegible, generating primarily a voyeur’s guilty, mystified confusion.
Why Britney Spears’s fans are convinced she’s being held captive|Constance Grady|November 11, 2020|Vox
How very Fighting Irish, what a classic mixture of high superiority and low, of guilty expediency, of painted-on purity.
Notre Dame’s president lacked self-control. Its student body is merely following his example.|Sally Jenkins|November 10, 2020|Washington Post

The jury found him not guilty of eight of those counts, and were unable to determine a verdict on one count.
Former Virginia doctor Javaid Perwaiz guilty of health-care fraud, performing unnecessary hysterectomies|Katie Mettler, Samantha Schmidt|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
"It sounds good, so they can persuade their parents to pay for it," he said, a touch guiltily.
Why a BA is Now a Ticket to A Job in a Coffee Shop|Megan McArdle|March 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“I guess I got a little carried away in there,” I say guiltily.
Lynn Sherr Remembers College Friend Nora Ephron|Lynn Sherr|June 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Of these latter I may guiltily confess, though with no names, I had known many who rebelled little more than formally.
The Way of a Man|Emerson Hough
Then she clutched the handles of the bureau drawer with fingers that twitched guiltily, and gave a jerk.
Mildred's Inheritance|Annie Fellows Johnston
Poor Wilbur at this time felt guiltily culpable that he did not own a motor car in which his Margaret might take the air.
The Butterfly House|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
She's a brick, and I feel so guiltily aware of tricking her.
Jane Journeys On|Ruth Comfort Mitchell
He was guiltily aware that they had passed the vicinity of dangerous ledges.
The Opened Shutters|Clara Louise Burnham

British Dictionary definitions for guilty

guilty

/ (ˈɡɪltɪ) /

adjective guiltier or guiltiest

responsible for an offence or misdeed

law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done sothe accused was found guilty

plead guilty law (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess

of, showing, or characterized by guilta guilty smile; guilty pleasures

Derived forms of guilty

guiltily, 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

guilty

OTHER WORDS FOR guilty

Origin of guilty

OTHER WORDS FROM guilty

Words related to guilty

How to use guilty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for guilty

Derived forms of guilty