the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; culpability: He admitted his guilt.
a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined.
conduct involving the commission of such crimes, wrongs, etc.: to live a life of guilt.
verb (used with object)Informal.
to cause to feel guilty (often followed by out or into): She totally guilted me out, dude. He guilted me into picking up the tab.See also guilt-trip.
Origin of guilt
before 1000; Middle English gilt,Old English gylt offense
She took the deal, again admitting her guilt, which qualified as a second strike on her record.
A woman in ICE detention says her fallopian tube was removed without her consent|Nicole Narea|September 17, 2020|Vox
Agency employees and execs say that whether or not agencies decide to open offices, managing expectations and helping assuage any sense of pressure or guilt to come in will be key.
‘Power dynamics’: Why the return to offices is more nuanced than it seems for agencies and their employees|Kristina Monllos|August 24, 2020|Digiday
You have to kind of package and create a streamlined way for them to reduce their guilt by being able to invest and support what you’re doing.
Uncharted Power’s Jessica O. Matthews has a plan to revive America’s crumbling infrastructure|Brooke Henderson|August 23, 2020|Fortune
It’s human nature to look for the most efficient way to decrease guilt.
Uncharted Power’s Jessica O. Matthews has a plan to revive America’s crumbling infrastructure|Brooke Henderson|August 23, 2020|Fortune
We could go to the bazaar of cultures and find reinforcement for inclinations that are repressed by puritanical guilt feelings.
Gender Is What You Make of It - Issue 88: Love & Sex|Charles King|August 5, 2020|Nautilus
Guilt, when dispensed in the circumstances Morris occupied, is the anti-Viagra.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Instead of lights and gifts, this one is filled with broken promises and guilt.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Police then lied to Henry by telling him that if he admitted his guilt, he could go home.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Although often this is considered proof positive of guilt at trial, it is not an uncommon occurrence in false confessions.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps my outrage at the men defending Cosby springs from my own feelings of guilt.
What Trait Do Bill Cosby’s Defenders Share?|Dean Obeidallah|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It removed his guilt, hushed his fears, and filled him with joy and peace in believing.
The Great Commission|C. H. (Charles Henry) Mackintosh
The image of his child, I believe, saved him many times from folly, more than once from guilt.
Contraband|G. J. Whyte-Melville
I direct these lines to be transmitted to thee—an eternal proof of thy innocence and my guilt.
Calderon The Courtier|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
You mean that the authorities are not convinced of my guilt, in spite of the evidence?
The Case of the Registered Letter|Augusta Groner
It was not so much the question of guilt or innocence that affected her now, but the shame of it all.
When Dreams Come True|Ritter Brown
British Dictionary definitions for guilt
guilt
/ (ɡɪlt) /
noun
the fact or state of having done wrong or committed an offence
responsibility for a criminal or moral offence deserving punishment or a penalty
remorse or self-reproach caused by feeling that one is responsible for a wrong or offence