Synonym Chooser

How is the word guilty different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of guilty are blamable, blameworthy, and culpable. While all these words mean "deserving reproach or punishment," guilty implies responsibility for or consciousness of crime, sin, or, at the least, grave error or misdoing.

guilty of a breach of etiquette

How are the words blameworthy and blamable related as synonyms of guilty?

Both blameworthy and blamable apply to any degree of reprehensibility.

conduct adjudged blameworthy
an accident for which no one is blamable

When could culpable be used to replace guilty?

The words culpable and guilty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, culpable is weaker than guilty and is likely to connote malfeasance or errors of ignorance, omission, or negligence.

culpable neglect

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 guilty Ge, who was from Flushing, Queens, pleaded guilty to accessing a device issued to another who did not authorize use and conspiracy to commit the same on July 31, according to ICE, and was sentenced to six to 12 months for each count and granted immediate release to the ICE detainer. Jack Date, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2025 Following an intense local investigation and nearly three years of legal back-and-forth, Grippo pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in July 2022. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025 Sonny Estrada, 52, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the May 11, 2014, death of 42-year-old Daniel Coriz, who was shot around midnight outside a Koe Street residence, according to San Diego police. City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025 At the time, Scott pleaded guilty to one count of animal crushing, which refers to extreme and intentional acts of torture inflicted upon animals, often for the purpose of creating shock films. Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for guilty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guilty
ashamed
Adjective
  • So many of the women millennials admired were destroyed in this way, becoming objects of ridicule and embarrassment that left us feeling ashamed for our stanning.
    Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 6 Aug. 2025
  • For those who can’t breastfeed, 52% feel judged, and 56% feel ashamed.
    Sarah Scott, Parents, 4 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Guilty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guilty. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on guilty

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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