What does guilt mean?
Guilt is the state of being responsible for wrongdoing and, by extension, the painful awareness that one has caused harm, broken a rule, or failed another person. In ordinary moral use, it usually names the unsettled feeling that follows a bad action: remorse, shame, and self-reproach may all be present, although guilt most directly emphasizes responsibility rather than disgrace. In legal contexts, guilt denotes the established fact that an accused person committed an offense, as in the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The word is normally treated as an uncountable noun, and plural forms are uncommon. Because guilt can refer both to a person’s culpability and to the private distress it produces, it carries a strong psychological and moral force. It is a useful word for describing not only wrongdoing itself but also the burden that wrongdoing leaves behind.
nounThe fact or feeling of being responsible for wrongdoing, especially as a matter of morality or law.
- A feeling of moral responsibility, remorse, or self-reproach for wrongdoing.
- The state or fact of having committed an offense or broken a law.
"She was consumed by guilt after learning that her silence had enabled the theft."
"He felt a deep sense of guilt after abandoning his friend."
"The new evidence cleared the suspect of guilt."
The plural is grammatical but uncommon; singular or uncountable forms are normally preferred.
"Few of the characters escape the guilts they carry."
Old English gylt could mean a sin or offense itself, so guilt began as something one did before becoming the uneasy feeling one carries afterward.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does guilt come from?
Guilt comes from Old English gylt, an inherited Germanic word associated with sin, crime, and culpability. Through Middle English it developed into the familiar modern noun, covering both legal responsibility and the inward feeling of wrongdoing. The root is reflected in related forms such as guilty and guiltless and in cognates including Old Norse gyld and German Schuld.
Related word forms
How guilt is actually used
Guilt is overwhelmingly an uncountable noun; the plural is uncommon. In legal contexts, it denotes culpability rather than the emotional distress associated with wrongdoing.
Easily confused with guilt
Guilt means moral or legal culpability, whereas gilt is a thin covering of gold or, in British English, a term for a crossbred animal.