guilty
Noun pluralguilties
Pluralguilties
- 1Responsible for having done something wrong, harmful or dishonest, whether or not it is a crime (often guilty of).
The treasurer was guilty of misusing company funds for personal trips.
The manager was guilty of hiding the mistakes from his own team.
UsageUsually guilty of + a noun or -ing form: guilty of cheating, guilty of a lie.
Oppositeinnocent
- 2Officially judged by a court or jury to have committed the crime charged.
The jury found the defendant guilty on all three counts.
He was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to five years.
UsageUsually found guilty of a crime, or guilty on a count: found guilty on all three counts.
Note
Here the word records a decision rather than a deed: a court has ruled, whatever the person actually did. Because it names an outcome, it sits apart from the everyday moral sense, where guilt is a matter of conduct.
- 3Feeling regret or unease because you believe you have done something wrong.
She felt guilty for not visiting her grandmother more often.
He gave a guilty smile when asked about the missing money.
UsageUsually feel guilty about or for something: felt guilty about forgetting. Also a guilty conscience, a guilty smile.
Similarashamed, remorseful, sheepish, contrite, regretful
Oppositeunashamed, unrepentant, shameless
Note
Inner feeling rather than outward fact: one can feel guilty without being guilty in the moral sense, or the reverse. It usually follows feel or look (feel guilty about or for something), and it also describes what gives the feeling away, as in a guilty conscience or a guilty smile.
- 4A plea entered by a defendant who admits the charge rather than contesting it.
The defendant changed his plea to guilty midway through the trial.
A plea of guilty waives the right to a jury trial.
UsageOne pleads guilty or enters a plea of guilty; also a guilty plea.
Note
The plea belongs to the defendant and the verdict to the court, which is the line between this noun and the jury's finding. A guilty plea settles the question before any verdict is needed.
- 5A verdict by a judge or jury declaring that the defendant committed the crime charged.
The foreman announced a verdict of guilty on all counts.
A finding of guilty requires agreement among the jurors.
UsageUsually a verdict of guilty, often given on each count: guilty on all counts.
Less common meaning
- 6A person who has committed a crime, especially one found guilty by a court; with the, such people as a group.
The law seeks to punish the guilty and protect the innocent.
Once the verdicts were read, sentencing for the guilty was set for the following week.
UsageUsually the guilty, with a plural verb: the guilty are punished.
Oppositeinnocent
Note
Here the adjective turns into a noun for people sorted by verdict. It can also be counted, with the plural guilties: David Brinkley, in Everyone Is Entitled to My Opinion, has the not guilties walking out to work while the guilties were hauled off to the county farm.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Old English gyltiġ ("offending, guilty") became Middle English gilty or gulty; the word is equivalent to guilt plus the suffix -y.