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.
guilted; guilting; guilts
: 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
Gary Shteyngart… guilting her to eat her own green beans because "there are starving children in Africa."—Katie Boerema
—often followed by intoKatie BoeremaA 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
Steve Lipsher
Synonyms
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
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Recent Examples on the WebRichard Kuipers, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023
My sense of obligation for Maggie was grave and tinged with guilt.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023
If the numbers pointed to Nicholas' guilt, law enforcement says so did evidence found at his house near the time of his arrest in 2019.
—Natalie Morales, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2023
Here, the mayor is also the judge, appointing the prosecutor and, if drivers ask for a trial, deciding their guilt or innocence.
—Samantha Sunne, ProPublica, 16 Nov. 2023
The colonel, who considered Major Nicholson a friend as well as a colleague, carried the death with him the rest of his life — not out of guilt, but as a reminder of the terrible nature of the Cold War.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023
The waterworks came when Devin felt guilt for taking Nick across the world from his family.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
The plaintiff claims to have suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress, including shame, guilt, economic loss of earning capacity, and emotional loss.
—Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2023
What was missing from the first version of the story was not specific incidents or details—many of which are the same in both books—but rather Ernaux’s own feelings of guilt and despair.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Republic, 31 Oct. 2023
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
His son, Jackson (John Owen Lowe), despite being the child of a nut who guilts him relentlessly (and who has just lost his mother), is extraordinarily normal, perhaps the most normal-seeming character who has ever inhabited a sitcom.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2023
Adversity, adaptation, guilt THE KOSIACHENKOS|FLOOR 17 Even on a morning when the lights are on, 3-year-old twins Illia and Kyrylo Kosiachenko still reach for their flashlights before heading off to school.
—Yutao Chen, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2023
Know your worth, then double it, and don’t let potential collaborators or clients guilt you into charging even a penny less.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2023
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Noun
The message here that kamikaze pilots who survived deserve to bear neither shame nor guilt will resonate strongly with modern audiences.
—Richard Kuipers, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023
My sense of obligation for Maggie was grave and tinged with guilt.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023
If the numbers pointed to Nicholas' guilt, law enforcement says so did evidence found at his house near the time of his arrest in 2019.
—Natalie Morales, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2023
Here, the mayor is also the judge, appointing the prosecutor and, if drivers ask for a trial, deciding their guilt or innocence.
—Samantha Sunne, ProPublica, 16 Nov. 2023
The colonel, who considered Major Nicholson a friend as well as a colleague, carried the death with him the rest of his life — not out of guilt, but as a reminder of the terrible nature of the Cold War.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023
The waterworks came when Devin felt guilt for taking Nick across the world from his family.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
The plaintiff claims to have suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress, including shame, guilt, economic loss of earning capacity, and emotional loss.
—Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2023
What was missing from the first version of the story was not specific incidents or details—many of which are the same in both books—but rather Ernaux’s own feelings of guilt and despair.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Republic, 31 Oct. 2023
Verb
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
His son, Jackson (John Owen Lowe), despite being the child of a nut who guilts him relentlessly (and who has just lost his mother), is extraordinarily normal, perhaps the most normal-seeming character who has ever inhabited a sitcom.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2023
Adversity, adaptation, guilt THE KOSIACHENKOS|FLOOR 17 Even on a morning when the lights are on, 3-year-old twins Illia and Kyrylo Kosiachenko still reach for their flashlights before heading off to school.
—Yutao Chen, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2023
Know your worth, then double it, and don’t let potential collaborators or clients guilt you into charging even a penny less.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2023
See More
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
Phrases Containing guilt
Dictionary Entries Near guilt
Cite this Entry
“Guilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guilt. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
guilt
noun1
: 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
adjective
-ləs
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
Nglish: Translation of guilt for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of guilt for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about guilt
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