GUILT Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

guilt

noun

ˈgilt

Definition of guilt

as in remorse

a feeling of responsibility for wrongdoing he was wracked with guilt after he accidentally broke his sister's antique grandfather clock

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in blame

responsibility for wrongdoing or failure the chief financial officer was saddled with the guilt for the company's failure

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of guilt The case has consequently drawn attention well beyond the question of guilt or innocence, prompting broader discussion about postpartum psychiatric illness and the legal standard for criminal responsibility. — Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Nov. 2026 He’s been used as a symbol both of Japan’s trauma over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a symbol of national guilt over atrocities committed by the Japanese army during WWII. — Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2026 That Barbier left his wife and baby daughter in Gary, Indiana, shortly after Snider’s death and moved to Missouri also indicated consciousness of guilt, Siefert said. — Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026 Weisheit did not contest his guilt but sought Braun to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole. — Abigail Brooks, NBC news, 4 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for guilt

Recent Examples of Synonyms for guilt

Noun

Prosecutors urged a lengthy sentence based on Skroko’s criminal history and lack of remorse.

— Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
At the hearing, prosecutors argued for life in prison, citing the brothers’ decadeslong assaults of dozens of women (over 70 have come forward) and lack of remorse.

— Kim Velsey, Curbed, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of remorse

Noun

The story follows two middle-aged people revisiting a relationship from more than two decades earlier, exploring regret and the possibility of moving on.

— Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 8 Nov. 2026
There is no tension between expectation and reality, no concrete regret or achievement, no shift in perspective, nothing gained or lost.

— Vrinda Jagota, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of regret

Noun

The horrors of the atomic bomb, America’s culpability and relation to postwar Japan, and the morality of revenge are major themes in Minus Zero.

— James Grebey, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026
Students and activists protested the funding structure, accusing ExxonMobil of retracing the path of tobacco companies, which paid for scientific work on obscure causes of cancer as a distraction from their culpability.

— Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of culpability

Noun

Of course, people were surprised that a 15-year-old boy wanted to tackle menstrual shame.

— Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 7 Nov. 2026
To join the tide of anti-intellectualism that refuses to take this seriously or rise to the challenge of doing so, as Tate has done with this exhibition, is a grave shame.

— Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 6 Nov. 2026