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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Guilty: Definition, Examples & Common Mistakes (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：feeling remorseful (guilty)

guilty 🔊

/ˈɡɪlti/

adj.

Feeling bad because you have done something wrong or hurt someone.

Guilty feeling illustrated by a person showing regret and sadness in a living room.

feeling remorseful 🔊

➕

/ˈfiːlɪŋ rɪˈmɔːrsfʊl/

adj.

Experiencing regret or sadness after doing something wrong or hurtful.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'gyltig', derived from 'gylt' meaning 'sin'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'guilt-y' as 'full of guilt', like feeling bad after a mistake.

📖 Example

After accidentally breaking her sister's favorite vase, she felt guilty and promised to buy a new one. 🔊 After accidentally breaking her sister's favorite vase, she felt remorseful and promised to buy a new one.

🔗 Collocations

feel guilty – to experience remorse

guilty conscience – a persistent feeling of guilt

look guilty – appear as if having committed a wrong

🔄 Synonyms

ashamed (adj.) – feeling embarrassed due to one's actions

remorseful (adj.) – filled with regret for wrongdoing

contrite (adj.) – showing sincere remorse

🚫 Antonyms

innocent (adj.) – not guilty of any crime or wrongdoing

blameless (adj.) – free from blame or guilt

🌱 Derivatives

guilt (n.) – the fact or state of having committed an offence

guiltily (adv.) – in a guilty manner

guiltiness (n.) – the quality of being guilty

📖 Cultural Story

Originates from Old English 'gyltig' (offending). Key in legal contexts for proven criminal responsibility and everyday use for moral regret.

Meaning 2：legally culpable (guilty)

guilty 🔊

/ˈɡɪlti/

adj.

Responsible for a crime or wrongdoing as proven in a court of law.

Guilty verdict scene in a courtroom with a judge, defendant, and gavel.

legally culpable 🔊

➕

/ˈliːɡəli ˈkʌlpəbl/

adj.

Being found responsible for a crime or offence as determined by a legal authority.

📁 Category：Laws & Regulations 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The court declared the man guilty of speeding after reviewing the traffic camera footage. 🔊 The court declared the man legally culpable for speeding after reviewing the traffic camera footage.

🔗 Collocations

plead guilty – to admit guilt in a court of law

found guilty – declared culpable by a judge or jury

guilty verdict – a legal decision that someone is guilty

🔄 Synonyms

culpable (adj.) – deserving blame or censure as being wrong or harmful

convicted (adj.) – having been declared guilty of a crime by a court

liable (adj.) – legally responsible for something

🚫 Antonyms

innocent (adj.) – not guilty of a crime

acquitted (adj.) – declared not guilty in a court of law

🌱 Derivatives

guilt (n.) – the fact of having committed a crime

guiltily (adv.) – in a manner showing guilt

guiltiness (n.) – the state of being guilty