Meaning & use
guilty
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Meanings
adjectiveafter a verblegal
Having done something wrong or illegal, especially as decided by a court.
Grammar: Often with of: found guilty of fraud.
Patterns
- be guilty of something
- find someone guilty
- plead guilty
The jury found him guilty of theft.
She pleaded guilty to the charge.
The company was guilty of ignoring safety rules.
adjectivecomparable
Feeling bad because you believe you have done something wrong.
Grammar: Often with about: feel guilty about the mess.
Patterns
- feel guilty about something
- feel guilty for doing something
I felt guilty about missing her party.
He looked guilty when his mother asked about the cookies.
She is guilty for not calling her grandfather more often.
adjectivebefore a noun
Showing or involving shame about something wrong.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: a guilty look, a guilty secret.
He gave a guilty smile and put the phone away.
Watching TV all day is her guilty pleasure.
The child kept a guilty secret about the broken vase.
Word forms
| comparative | guiltier |
|---|---|
| superlative | guiltiest |
Common combinations
- plead guilty
- The driver decided to plead guilty.
- find someone guilty
- The court found the manager guilty of fraud.
- guilty conscience
- A guilty conscience kept him awake all night.
- guilty pleasure
- Reality shows are my guilty pleasure.
- feel guilty
- Don't feel guilty about taking a day off.
Synonyms and how they differ
- culpable
- Culpable is formal and stresses blame for a fault or crime, without the emotional sense of guilty.
- ashamed
- Ashamed focuses on the embarrassment about yourself, while guilty focuses on having done wrong.
- remorseful
- Remorseful is stronger and suggests deep regret, often with a wish to make amends.
- responsible
- Responsible simply says someone caused something, and need not imply blame.
Opposites
Word family
- guilt noun
- the fact of having done wrong, or the feeling about it
- guiltily adverb
- in a way that shows guilt
- guiltless adjective
- free from blame
- guilt-ridden adjective
- very troubled by guilt
Commonly confused: guilty or ashamed?
guilty vs ashamed
You can feel ashamed of who you are without having done a specific wrong act, but guilty points to a particular wrongdoing.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition: 'The jury found her guilty ___ fraud.'
Choose one answer.
Be guilty of or find someone guilty of is the fixed pattern for the offense; for is a common learner slip.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “guilty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.