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\ ˈgil-tē 
\
\guiltier; guiltiest
Definition of guilty
1 : justly chargeable with or responsible for a usually grave breach of conduct or a crime
Does the defendant plead guilty or not guilty?
2a : suggesting or involving guilt The children exchanged guilty looks.
b : aware of or suffering from guilt
guilty consciences
3 obsolete : justly liable to or deserving of a penalty
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Other Words from guilty
guiltily \ ˈgil-tə-lē \ adverb
\ adverbguiltiness \ ˈgil-tē-nəs \ noun
\ noun
Examples of guilty in a Sentence
Do you think he's innocent or guilty?
Will the defendant plead guilty or not guilty?
The children exchanged guilty looks.
He was acting like someone with a guilty conscience.
There's no need to feel guilty about it.
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Recent Examples on the Web The 74-year old avoided the death penalty by taking a plea deal, pleading guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and 13 kidnapping counts in six counties.
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Kellie Hwang, SFChronicle.com, "The Golden State Killer case: A roundup of the Chronicle’s coverage," 29 June 2020 Ten union officials and a late official’s spouse have pleaded guilty in the probe since 2017, including former President Gary Jones.
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Washington Post, "Ex-UAW president repays union $55k for travel expenses," 29 June 2020 He was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges, including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, in April.
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oregonlive, "Body found near North Plains confirmed to be Allyson Watterson," 27 June 2020 While Johnson has no open cases against him, he has been convicted or pleaded guilty at least three times, including for felony theft, according to the court records and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Fox News, "Wisconsin violence erupted over arrest of activist with felony conviction, history of controversial social media posts," 26 June 2020 Rudolph avoided the possibility of execution by pleading guilty on April 13, 2005 to the bombing in Birmingham and bombings in Atlanta, including the Olympic Centennial Park blast in 1996 that injured more than 120.
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Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph wants out of prison," 25 June 2020 Former USA Gymnastics doctor Nassar is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges in 2017.
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Ginger Rough, The Indianapolis Star, "Go behind the scenes of 'Athlete A' with IndyStar journalists Thursday," 24 June 2020 Roginsky pleaded guilty in January to charges of drug and money-laundering conspiracies.
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John Caniglia, cleveland, "3 men, including brother of Olympic, former WWE wrestler Kurt Angle, fined in federal steroid case," 24 June 2020 The lenient punishment his assailants received after pleading guilty to manslaughter — probation and a $3,000 fine, with no prison time — sparked protests across the country and united people from different ethnic groups.
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NBC News, "Anniversary of Vincent Chin's death relevant in era of 'Kung flu' and COVID-19 blame, experts say," 23 June 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guilty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for guilty
guilty
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of guilty
: responsible for committing a crime or doing something bad or wrong
: showing that you know you have done something bad or wrong
: feeling bad because you have done something bad or wrong or because you believe you have done something bad or wrong
See the full definition for guilty in the English Language Learners Dictionary
guilty
adjective\ ˈgil-tē \
\guiltier; guiltiest
Kids Definition of guilty
1 : responsible for having done wrong
2 : suffering from or showing bad feelings about having done wrong
I feel guilty about lying.
guilty
adjectiveguiltier; guiltiest
Legal Definition of guilty
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : having committed a crime : justly charged with a specified crime
guilty of larceny
2 : involving guilt or culpability guilty knowledge
guilty
nounLegal Definition of guilty (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a plea of a criminal defendant who does not intend to contest the charges
2 : a verdict of a jury that believes the defendant committed the crime charged — compare nolo contendere, not guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity
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Time Traveler for guilty
The first known use of guilty was before the 12th century
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