guilty

[gil-tee]

adjective

guiltier, guiltiest 

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.

   Synonyms: nefarious, illicit, culpable, felonious, criminal

3. having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined.

   a guilty conscience.

guilty

/ ˈɡɪltɪ /

adjective

1. responsible for an offence or misdeed

2. law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done so

   the accused was found guilty

3. law (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess

4. of, showing, or characterized by guilt

   a guilty smile

   guilty pleasures

Other Word Forms

• guiltily adverb
• guiltiness noun
• overguilty adjective
• quasi-guiltily adverb
• quasi-guilty adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of guilty¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig; equivalent to guilt + -y ¹

Example Sentences

While initially convicted of first-degree murder in Worden’s death, he was eventually declared not guilty by reason of insanity — diagnosed as schizophrenic — and was institutionalized until his death due to complications from cancer in 1984.

From Los Angeles Times

The couple are due to be sentenced for murder on Friday, alongside Ethan's mother, Shannon Ives, 28, who was found guilty of causing or allowing her son's death, and child cruelty.

From BBC

The aim isn’t to make people feel guilty about missing the obvious clues.

From Salon

Justin Halstenberg was found guilty of seven counts related to the Line fire and two counts related to a subsequent blaze.

From Los Angeles Times

She says that listening to evidence in court that later secured Tobin's guilty verdict led her to a career teaching forensics at the same college.

From BBC

Related Words

• convicted 
• culpable 
• liable 
• remorseful 
• responsible 
• sorry 
• wrong 

When To Use

What does guilty mean?

If you’re guilty, it means you were responsible for doing something wrong, especially a crime. If you’re found guilty, it means a jury has officially decided that you committed a crime. If you feel guilty, it means you feel bad about something you shouldn’t have done or should have done but didn’t.In a legal context, guilty is the opposite of innocent (not guilty). It is often used in an official sense, but not always.Example: Once when I was a kid I shoplifted a stick of gum from the store and felt so guilty about it that I was crying by the time I got home.