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

Maybe it’s because they love their abuser, and feel responsible for their well-being, want to help them and will feel guilty if they don’t.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Two years ago, more than a dozen people were found guilty of installing secret cameras close to the railway lines in Poland that are used to send weapons and equipment to Ukraine.

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Do pleaded guilty and is serving five years in federal prison.

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McCluskie and Campbell both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and have been cooperating with the federal government.

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Three other hackers have been charged over the scam, with US teenager Graham Clark pleading guilty to his part in the deception in 2021.

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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.