Guilty Definition & Meaning

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    • 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.

    It was not known whether sentencing would immediately follow a guilty verdict, but if acquitted, Najib will return to Kajang Prison outside Kuala Lumpur to continue serving his prior sentence.

    From Barron's

    He pleaded not guilty and the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    She pleaded not guilty to the charge, and was set to appear in court on March 3, 2026.

    From Los Angeles Times

    "My mum thinks I'm mad. She's a great cook and I've always felt a little guilty. It breaks her heart," he added.

    From BBC

    This isn’t as surprising, since LLMs are “trained” on articles in which analysts interpret the news, and those analysts themselves will be guilty of negativity bias.

    From MarketWatch

    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.

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