Basic+ Word of the Day: guilt

guilt (noun)

Guilt is the fact of having committed a crime or wrong against the law or a moral code.

• The robber admitted his guilt.

Guilt is also the feeling of remorse for doing something wrong.

• When Sean's mom asked if he ate the last cookie, he had the look of guilt on his face.

Guilt is also responsibility or blame.

• The guilt lies with the perpetrator, not the victim.

Common uses

guilt by association: guilt determined by the people someone associates with–not the evidence. Example: “When you accuse someone of a crime because of the crimes of their family, it’s guilt by association.”

Don't confuse it with

gilt: covered with gold. Example: “The king’s portrait was in a gilt frame.”

Related words

guilty: having a feeling of guilt. Example: “After Ted lied to his wife, he had a guilty conscience.”

In pop culture

Guilty by Suspicion is a film about the film industry in the 1950s and how the US government blacklisted many artists (prevented them from working on films) accused of being Communists. Watch the trailer:

There are other meanings of guilt.