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Showing results for "guilty pleasure"
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Slang dictionary results for guilty pleasure.

guilty pleasure

American  
[gil-tee plezh-er] / ˈgɪl ti ˈplɛʒ ər /

noun

  1. an activity, habit, food, etc., that a person feels shame or guilt for enjoying, often because they feel they will be judged by others.

    TV shows meant for teens are a guilty pleasure many adults just can't get enough of.

    Eating healthfully is important, but treating yourself to a guilty pleasure from time to time is definitely not a crime.


Etymology

Origin of guilty pleasure

First recorded in 1680–90


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Dawson's Creek was my guilty pleasure in the late 90s.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

Fried dough has scratched guilty pleasure for millennia.

From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026

It is very much a guilty pleasure of mine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

That’s what we should be peddling to the world’s greatest athletes: Welcome to L.A., and to all the basic food groups — salt, fat, sugar and guilty pleasure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024

“The life of a scythe would be dreadful if we didn’t allow ourselves the guilty pleasure of a hobby. Mine is cooking.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

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