guilt
English · Thesaurus
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guilt¹
- /ɡɪlt/ US, UK
Sounds like gilt, GILT · Rhymes with -ɪlt
Where it comes from
From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin. Possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”) (whence yield), from Proto-West Germanic *guldijā (whence Middle High German gülte (“debt, fee, financial duty”), Middle Low German gülde, German Gülte), from Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay for”), from Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”). However, neither the Old English stem form nor its ending -t (instead of -d) fit the continental form.
noun guilts
-
Responsibility for wrongdoing.
Similar: guiltiness · Opposite: innocence, blamelessness, cleanness, inculpability, innocency, guiltlessness, unguilt
-
The state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.
Opposite: innocence
-
Regret for having done wrong.
Appropriate guilt is experienced when we actually do something objectively wrong—for example, exploit another, betray a trust, and so on. […] Inappropriate guilt occurs from believing a lie and is resolved by an application of the truth.
Similar: remorse, agenbite, rue, ruth, compunction, contrition, guilt, penitence, repentance, self-reproach, sorriness
Similar: blameworthiness, culpability, guilt, guiltiness, noninnocence, uninnocence · Opposite: innocence
guilt²
- /ɡɪlt/ US, UK
Sounds like gilt, GILT · Rhymes with -ɪlt
Where it comes from
From Middle English gilten, gylten, from Old English gyltan (“to commit sin, be guilty”), from gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”).
verb guilts · guilting · guilted
- To commit offenses; act criminally.
guilt³
- /ɡɪlt/ US, UK
Sounds like gilt, GILT · Rhymes with -ɪlt
Where it comes from
From Etymology 1.
verb guilts · guilting · guilted
- To cause someone to feel guilt, particularly in order to influence their behaviour. He didn't want to do it, but his wife guilted him into it.
guilt⁴
- /ɡɪlt/ US, UK
Sounds like gilt, GILT · Rhymes with -ɪlt
adjective
- Obsolete form of gilt (“gilded”) Two silver monteths, two large fflaggons, two large tankards, two silver salvers, a voyder and a knyfe, two silver salts, two guilt bolls of the like size, one other boll, three silver bolls, in all 24 pieces guilt and unguilt.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: guiltiness, guilty conscience, guilt trip, guilt feelings, blame, compunction, culpability, guilty, condemnation, culprit, offender, remorse, crime, perpetrator, sin, wrongdoing
noun
Similar: blameworthiness, culpability, guilt, guiltiness, noninnocence, uninnocence · Opposite: innocence
Translations
Every language
noun responsibility for wrongdoing
| Español | culpa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 죄 joe, 유죄 yujoe, 책임 chaegim |
| 日本語 | 有罪 yūzai, 罪 tsumi, 責任 sekinin |
| 中文 | 罪狀 /罪状 zuìzhuàng, 罪疚 zuìjiù, 有罪 yǒuzuì |
| हिन्दी | अपराध aprādh, क़सूर qasūr, दोष doṣ, ऐब aib |
| Kiswahili | hatia |
| Português | culpa |
| Français | culpabilité |
| Deutsch | Schuld |
| Italiano | colpa |
| Ελληνικά | ενοχή enochí |
| Română | păcat, vină |
| Русский | вина́ viná, вино́вность vinóvnostʹ, прови́нность provínnostʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | điều sai quấy, lỗi, lỗi lầm |
| العربية | ذَنْب ḏanb, خِطْء ḵiṭʔ, إِثْم ʔiṯm, جُرْم jurm, عَيْب ʕayb, خَطِيئَة ḵaṭīʔa |
| עברית | אַשְׁמָה ashmá |
noun legal
| Español | culpabilidad |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 범죄 beomjoe, 유죄 yujoe |
| 日本語 | 有罪 yūzai, 犯罪 hanzai |
| 中文 | 犯罪 fànzuì, 有罪 yǒuzuì |
| Português | culpa |
| Français | culpabilité |
| Deutsch | Schuld |
| Italiano | colpevolezza |
| Русский | вина́ viná, вино́вность vinóvnostʹ, прови́нность provínnostʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | tội lỗi |
noun regret for having done wrong
| Español | culpa, remordimiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 죄책감 joechaekgam |
| 日本語 | 罪悪感 zaiakukan |
| 中文 | 內疚 /内疚 nèijiù |
| हिन्दी | अपराधबोध aprādhbodh, आत्मग्लानि ātmaglāni, दोष-भावना doṣ-bhāvnā, दोषबोध doṣbodh, अपराध-भावना aprādh-bhāvnā |
| Português | culpa |
| Français | sentiment de culpabilité |
| Deutsch | Schuldgefühl |
| Italiano | senso di colpa |
| Ελληνικά | τύψη týpsi |
| Русский | вина́ viná, чу́вство вины́ čúvstvo viný |
| Tiếng Việt | cảm giác tội lỗi |
| العربية | نَدَم nadam |
verb Translations
| Español | hacer sentir culpable |
|---|
Talk about this word "guilt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/guilt. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. guilt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/guilt "guilt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/guilt.Cite this
@misc{guilt_2026,
title = {guilt},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/guilt},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
