guilt
Plural: guilts
Noun
- The state of having committed an offense or crime.
- the state of having committed an offense
- remorse caused by feeling responsible for some offense
- Responsibility for wrongdoing.
- The state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.
- Regret for having done wrong.
Verb
- To commit offenses; act criminally.
- To cause someone to feel guilt, particularly in order to influence their behaviour.
Adj
- Obsolete form of gilt (“gilded”)
Examples
- He didn't want to do it, but his wife guilted him into it.
- He felt a pang of GUILT after playing an obscure word that surprisingly went unchallenged.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin, but possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”), whence yield. More specifically it could be connected with Proto-West Germanic *guldijā, whence Middle Low German gülde, Middle High German gülte (“debt, fee, financial duty”). However, neither the Old English stem form nor the -t (instead of -d) fit the continental form.
Synonyms
guilt feelings, guilt trip, guiltiness, guilty conscience, remorse
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 6
guilt: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordguilt: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
guilt: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary