Meaning & use

guilty

adjective·Everyday

Responsible for committing a wrongdoing or crime, or feeling regret about one's actions.

See it in a sentence

The jury found the defendant guilty after carefully reviewing all the evidence.

He felt terribly guilty for forgetting his sister's birthday that morning.

A note on using this word

Distinguish the legal sense, found guilty of a crime, from the emotional sense of feeling guilty about something.

Words with a similar meaning

culpableremorseful

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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