Guilty Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Compare Meaning

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms guilty American [gil-tee] / ˈgɪl ti /

adjective

guiltier, guiltiest

1. having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; justly subject to a certain accusation or penalty; culpable.

   The jury found her guilty of murder.

2. characterized by, connected with, or involving guilt.

   guilty intent.

   Synonyms: nefarious, illicit, culpable, felonious, criminal

3. having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined.

   a guilty conscience.

guilty British / ˈɡɪltɪ /

adjective

1. responsible for an offence or misdeed

2. law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done so

   the accused was found guilty

3. law (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess

4. of, showing, or characterized by guilt

   a guilty smile

   guilty pleasures

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does guilty mean? If you’re guilty, it means you were responsible for doing something wrong, especially a crime. If you’re found guilty, it means a jury has officially decided that you committed a crime. If you feel guilty, it means you feel bad about something you shouldn’t have done or should have done but didn’t.In a legal context, guilty is the opposite of innocent (not guilty). It is often used in an official sense, but not always.Example: Once when I was a kid I shoplifted a stick of gum from the store and felt so guilty about it that I was crying by the time I got home.

Other Word Forms

• guiltily adverb
• guiltiness noun
• overguilty adjective
• quasi-guiltily adverb
• quasi-guilty adjective

Etymology

Origin of guilty

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig; equivalent to guilt + -y 1

Compare meaning

How does guilty compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• nolo contendere vs. guilty

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.

On Tuesday, he spoke from the dock to confirm his name and his latest not guilty pleas, while wearing a leopard print shirt with several buttons undone and holding a fedora hat.

From BBC

Navarro’s mother pleaded guilty in June 2025 to one count of making false statements after lying to the FBI when questioned about receiving funds from her son’s campaign.

From Los Angeles Times

The 63-year-old has pleaded not guilty and declared that he is a "prisoner of war."

From Barron's

"But it's important that Scots law has that protection for the innocent until proven guilty."

From BBC

And yet, “Frankenstein” was met with an air of prestige, while “Wuthering Heights” has been treated like a guilty pleasure.

From Salon

Related Words

• convicted
• culpable
• liable
• remorseful
• responsible
• sorry
• wrong

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.