guilty pleasure

American

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

noun

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.

It’s Seyfried who elevates “The Housemaid” from guilty pleasure status, making it an exhilarating enigma at one moment and genuinely affecting the next.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026

People eat these shows like candy, and while candy can rot your teeth and put on pounds, it can also deliver a jolt of guilty pleasure and feed a sugar addiction.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

It is very much a guilty pleasure of mine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

Greg Strause, who directed “Skyline” and founded a special-effects company with his brother Colin, agrees that viewers take guilty pleasure in seeing Los Angeles landmarks ripped to shreds.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

Citra took guilty pleasure at the fact that the girl who had been sucking up to Rowan was one of those ejected.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023