guilty

[ gil-tee ]
See synonyms for: guiltyguiltiness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,guilt·i·er, guilt·i·est.
  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.

  1. having or showing a sense of guilt, whether real or imagined: a guilty conscience.

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Origin of guilty

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English gyltig; equivalent to guilt + -y1

Other words for guilty

Other words from guilty

  • guilt·i·ly, adverb
  • guilt·i·ness, noun
  • o·ver·guilt·y, adjective
  • qua·si-guilt·i·ly, adverb
  • quasi-guilty, adjective

Words Nearby guilty

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use guilty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for guilty

guilty

/ (ˈɡɪltɪ) /


adjectiveguiltier or guiltiest
  1. responsible for an offence or misdeed

  2. law having committed an offence or adjudged to have done so: the accused was found guilty

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

  2. of, showing, or characterized by guilt: a guilty smile; guilty pleasures

Derived forms of guilty

  • guiltily, adverb
  • guiltiness, noun

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