guilt

1 of 2

noun

ˈgilt 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• remorse
• regret
• shame

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

There's a lot of guilt … a ton of fear, but there's also deep gratitude. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025

Wood sent to prison after violating probation A Jan. 1, 2010, incident — five months after his initial probation ended — led to an admission of guilt by Wood. —Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 12 July 2025

Verb

Reddit users are weighing in on the situation, with many saying the mother-in-law is trying to guilt the woman into opening the lines of communication. —Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 24 June 2025

Same goes for the Trump administration — impossible to guilt. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025

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

Phrases Containing guilt

• agonies of guilt/remorse/regret
• guilt trip
• lay/put a guilt trip on

Rhymes for guilt

• built
• gilt
• hilt
• kilt
• lilt
• milt
• quilt
• silt
• spilt
• stilt
• tilt
• wilt

Kids Definition

guilt

noun

ˈgilt 

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

ˈgilt 

: 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