guilt

1 of 2

noun

1
: the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty
A jury will determine the defendant's guilt or innocence.
broadly : guilty conduct
2
a
: the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously
His guilt was written in his face.
b
: feelings of deserving blame especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy : self-reproach
3
: a feeling of deserving blame for offenses
Wracked by guilt, he confessed his affairs.

guilt

2 of 2

verb

guilted; guilting; guilts

transitive verb

: to cause (someone) to feel guilty
Don't listen to Mommy. She's trying to guilt you.Gary Shteyngart
: to persuade (someone) to do something by causing feelings of guilt
guilting her to eat her own green beans because "there are starving children in Africa."Katie Boerema
often followed by into
A far stronger compulsion is created when people think they're being watched, as a mildly impressive 86 percent of people were guilted into washing their hands in one study.Steve Lipsher

Examples of guilt in a Sentence

Noun The jury determines the defendant's guilt or innocence. His guilt in the matter was indisputable. It was clear that the guilt lay with him. a strong sense of guilt She feels guilt over something that happened before she was born! our secret guilts and insecurities
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Straubing if the judgment becomes final, as it has been established that there is a severe gravity of guilt. Nadine Schmidt, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 The actress said that even months or years after a spouse dies, widowers experience feelings of grief, guilt and loneliness. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 Crisis pregnancy centers wield shame and guilt as prevention tools. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, the principal is steadfast in her beliefs, while Father Flynn’s defensiveness of the situation can be read as sheer horror at the accusation or complete denial and guilt. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 Morin said in addition to the support group, the seminars helped ease the fear and guilt that once haunted her. Barry Petersen, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2024 Despite mounting doubts about his guilt, Cantu was executed at 6:47 Central time on Wednesday in Huntsville by lethal injection, in a small room known as the death chamber, with its seafoam-green walls and gurney with restraints. María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 But despite the mountain of evidence suggesting his guilt, Drake, Chris Brown, Meek Mill, and others have since expressed solidarity with Tory. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024 Researchers believe that kleptomania may be a maladaptive response to a depressive mood state and the feelings of guilt and shame that follow instances of compulsive stealing can intensify these feelings of depression. Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Verb
Trying to guilt yourself out of it probably won’t help. Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2024 Shock came first, then guilt: The children had been visiting her mother’s house. Rozina Ali, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 One of them has been repeatedly texting us, adamantly requesting, and even trying to guilt us into saving the guest bedroom for her. Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 Don’t lecture, don’t explain, don’t guilt, don’t count to three and don’t give in. Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2023 The suit also alleged that MacPherson would get Lewis expensive gifts such as luggage and Tiffany necklaces, and that MacPherson would guilt her into accepting them. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2023 There are malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 trying to guilt you into using Edge. Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2023 Wakanda Forever, Ruben Östlund's high-class social satire Triangle of Sadness feels the timeliest, with a self-skewering message of contemporary excess that might guilt Oscar voters into ticking it higher on their ballot rankings. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Dec. 2022 Jo also subtly guilts Lizzy into helping her nurse an injured bird, which Lizzy tried to quietly discard after her cat attacked it in her apartment the previous evening. Vikram Murthi, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'guilt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, delinquency, guilt, from Old English gylt delinquency

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of guilt was before the 12th century

Cite this Entry

“Guilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guilt. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

guilt

noun
1
: the fact of having done something wrong and especially something that is punishable by law
2
: the state of one who has done something wrong : blameworthiness
3
: a feeling of responsibility for wrongdoing
guiltless
-ləs
adjective

Medical Definition

guilt

noun
: feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy : morbid self-reproach often manifest in marked preoccupation with the moral correctness of one's behavior
aggressive responses originating in inner guilt and uncertainty

Legal Definition

guilt

noun
: the fact of having committed an offense especially against the law
not enough evidence to establish guilt
compare innocence
Etymology

Noun

Old English gylt delinquency

More from Merriam-Webster on guilt

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