guilty pleasure
Americannoun
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.
When we decided to rank the best Los Angeles movies, we thought 101 titles would be plenty: room enough for undeniable classics, personal obsessions, even a guilty pleasure or two.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
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
It is very much a guilty pleasure of mine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
She said that TikTok was "everyone's guilty pleasure".
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2024
She found a guilty pleasure in the humility he had cloaked himself in since Amala gave birth.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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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.