guilt
Americannoun
-
the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; culpability.
He admitted his guilt.
- Antonyms:
- innocence
-
a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined.
-
conduct involving the commission of such crimes, wrongs, etc..
to live a life of guilt.
- Synonyms:
- criminality
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the fact or state of having done wrong or committed an offence
-
responsibility for a criminal or moral offence deserving punishment or a penalty
-
remorse or self-reproach caused by feeling that one is responsible for a wrong or offence
-
archaic sin or crime
Other Word Forms
- nonguilt noun
- preguilt noun
Etymology
Origin of guilt
First recorded before 1000; Middle English gilt, Old English gylt “offense”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“In truth, this is guilt by blood, this is hostage taking, this is transnational repression,” Ms. Kwok wrote on social media Thursday.
Out of their victory over sin and guilt, Hawthorne builds the “city on a hill” that the American republic would become: a dynamic vessel for people and ideas fleeing an exhausted Old World.
Danielle believes no prison term could outweigh the lifelong regret and guilt Roberts carries, adding: "I think actually coming back into the community is harder because you've got to face people."
From BBC
"They're in a state of numbness and even disbelief but there will also be feelings of anger and guilt and fear and pain."
From BBC
At this point Williams located the report and "stated his dismay" at the admission of guilt.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
