guilty
Americanadjective
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guiltier,
comparative
-
guiltiest
superlative
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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.
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characterized by, connected with, or involving guilt.
guilty intent.
-
having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined.
a guilty conscience.
adjective
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responsible for an offence or misdeed
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law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done so
the accused was found guilty
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law (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess
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of, showing, or characterized by guilt
a guilty smile
guilty pleasures
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of guilty
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig; equivalent to guilt + -y 1
Compare meaning
How does guilty compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Someone guilty has done something wrong or illegal. And when you do something wrong, you feel guilty — bad or sorry — about it. The police are responsible for finding out who’s guilty of a crime so they can be arrested, convicted, and punished. But you can also be guilty of smaller, more legal things, like cheating on a test, breaking the rules of a game, or thinking awful things. If you’ve done it, then you’re guilty of it: so if someone asks if you have a crush on your swim instructor, you can say “guilty!”
Vocabulary lists containing guilty
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Feeling Sorry?
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Hooked on a Feeling, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“Two independent doctors evaluated Hoetzlein and each concluded he met the legal criteria for a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity,” Ventura County Dist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
They’ve pleaded not guilty, with the mother saying in an interview with investigators that she thought having a green card meant she could vote.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
He also faces state charges, although his lawyers are seeking to get those dismissed following his guilty plea.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
While the federal charges he pleaded guilty to carry up to life in prison, the judge could sentence him to less time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Even after the trial, the French authorities still couldn’t admit he was guilty.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
A guiltier pleasure is attempting to go above and beyond anything your parents may have done for you.
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2024
This would make any nurse look guiltier with each job change.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 18, 2023
She wrote that his “fictionalized version of me is just the tabloid conspiracy guiltier version of me.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2021
They feel guilty for watching, but guiltier for not watching.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 28, 2019
Hearing her voice made him feel even guiltier, more ashamed at how he'd handled the first meeting.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
That’s a shame, because the airline’s 11 outside directors are arguably the guiltiest of the guilty parties in the company’s recent fiasco, the most deserving of obloquy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2023
It’s a very human impulse to always be angriest about the things you’re guiltiest of doing to other people.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 11, 2018
But as of today, you are as guilty as your guiltiest client, and your representation of that client—especially if it is both zealous and successful—is now disqualifying as well.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2014
The guiltiest of pleasures might be derived from the annual chronicles of bonus season on Wall Street.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2013
Then he said the thing he knew would make her feel the guiltiest.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
