1
: the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty
A jury will determine the defendant's guilt or innocence.
broadly
: guilty conduct
2
a
: the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously
His guilt was written in his face.
b
: feelings of deserving blame especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy : self-reproach
3
: a feeling of deserving blame for offenses
Wracked by guilt, he confessed his affairs.
guilted; guilting; guilts
: to cause (someone) to feel guilty
Don't listen to Mommy. She's trying to guilt you.—
Gary Shteyngart
: to persuade (someone) to do something by causing feelings of guilt
Gary Shteyngart… guilting her to eat her own green beans because "there are starving children in Africa."—Katie Boerema
—often followed by intoKatie BoeremaA far stronger compulsion is created when people think they're being watched, as a mildly impressive 86 percent of people were guilted into washing their hands in one study.—Steve Lipsher
Steve LipsherSynonyms
Examples of guilt in a Sentence
Noun
The jury determines the defendant's guilt or innocence.
His guilt in the matter was indisputable.
It was clear that the guilt lay with him.
a strong sense of guilt
She feels guilt over something that happened before she was born!
our secret guilts and insecurities
Recent Examples on the WebWesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Israel’s swift public explanation and admission of guilt is rare, as is for such senior officers to be punished.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Gill further alleged that his research of the victim was an admission of guilt.
—Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The Pinault Collection at the Bourse offers provocative art — minus the usual lectures on guilt and grievance.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 4 Apr. 2024
Then a devastating accident leaves Jan almost totally paralyzed and Bess plagued with guilt.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Mea Culpa: Criminal defense attorney Mea Harper navigates a complex murder case, where determining her client's innocence reveals a web of secrets and desires, blurring lines between guilt and seduction.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
After 9-Year IVF Journey Andrews is opening up about navigating mom life, admitting she's had a hard time grappling with mom guilt.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Despite Sheila's guilt, one expert said Heather would have required tremendous help beyond what her sister could offer to stay clean; alcohol and substance addiction comes with inherent biological predispositions.
—Kunle Falayi, The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2024
Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2024
Shock came first, then guilt: The children had been visiting her mother’s house.
—Rozina Ali, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
One of them has been repeatedly texting us, adamantly requesting, and even trying to guilt us into saving the guest bedroom for her.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023
Don’t lecture, don’t explain, don’t guilt, don’t count to three and don’t give in.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2023
The suit also alleged that MacPherson would get Lewis expensive gifts such as luggage and Tiffany necklaces, and that MacPherson would guilt her into accepting them.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2023
There are malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 trying to guilt you into using Edge.
—Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2023
Wakanda Forever, Ruben Östlund's high-class social satire Triangle of Sadness feels the timeliest, with a self-skewering message of contemporary excess that might guilt Oscar voters into ticking it higher on their ballot rankings.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Dec. 2022
Jo also subtly guilts Lizzy into helping her nurse an injured bird, which Lizzy tried to quietly discard after her cat attacked it in her apartment the previous evening.
—Vikram Murthi, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
Noun
David has imbued Larry with so much guilt, exceptionalism, cluelessness, terror, cowardice, innocence, avoidance, vindictive zeal, genuine curiosity and joie de vivre that the performance becomes what Larry loves: a buffet.
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Israel’s swift public explanation and admission of guilt is rare, as is for such senior officers to be punished.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Gill further alleged that his research of the victim was an admission of guilt.
—Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The Pinault Collection at the Bourse offers provocative art — minus the usual lectures on guilt and grievance.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 4 Apr. 2024
Then a devastating accident leaves Jan almost totally paralyzed and Bess plagued with guilt.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Mea Culpa: Criminal defense attorney Mea Harper navigates a complex murder case, where determining her client's innocence reveals a web of secrets and desires, blurring lines between guilt and seduction.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
After 9-Year IVF Journey Andrews is opening up about navigating mom life, admitting she's had a hard time grappling with mom guilt.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Despite Sheila's guilt, one expert said Heather would have required tremendous help beyond what her sister could offer to stay clean; alcohol and substance addiction comes with inherent biological predispositions.
—Kunle Falayi, The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
Trying to guilt yourself out of it probably won’t help.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2024
Shock came first, then guilt: The children had been visiting her mother’s house.
—Rozina Ali, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
One of them has been repeatedly texting us, adamantly requesting, and even trying to guilt us into saving the guest bedroom for her.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023
Don’t lecture, don’t explain, don’t guilt, don’t count to three and don’t give in.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2023
The suit also alleged that MacPherson would get Lewis expensive gifts such as luggage and Tiffany necklaces, and that MacPherson would guilt her into accepting them.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2023
There are malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 trying to guilt you into using Edge.
—Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2023
Wakanda Forever, Ruben Östlund's high-class social satire Triangle of Sadness feels the timeliest, with a self-skewering message of contemporary excess that might guilt Oscar voters into ticking it higher on their ballot rankings.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Dec. 2022
Jo also subtly guilts Lizzy into helping her nurse an injured bird, which Lizzy tried to quietly discard after her cat attacked it in her apartment the previous evening.
—Vikram Murthi, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'guilt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near guilt
Cite this Entry
“Guilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guilt. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
guilt
noun1
: the fact of having done something wrong and especially something that is punishable by law
2
: the state of one who has done something wrong : blameworthiness
3
: a feeling of responsibility for wrongdoing
guiltless
adjective
-ləs
Medical Definition
guilt
noun
: feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy : morbid self-reproach often manifest in marked preoccupation with the moral correctness of one's behavior
aggressive responses originating in inner guilt and uncertainty
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