From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishguiltyguilt‧y /ˈɡɪlti/ ●●● S2 W3 adjective 1 ashamedGUILTY/FEEL GUILTY feeling very ashamed and sad because you know that you have done something wrongguilty about/for/at I feel really guilty about forgetting her birthday again. She looked self-conscious and guilty. It was his guilty conscience that made him offer to help.RegisterIn everyday English, people often say that they feel bad about something rather than say that they feel guilty about it:I feel bad about leaving him on his own.2 of a crimeGUILTY having done something that is a crime OPP innocentguilty of The jury found her guilty of murder. He was found not guilty of the death of PC Jones. He pleaded guilty to two charges of theft.3 BLAMEresponsible for behaviour that is morally or socially unacceptablebe guilty of doing something Some journalists are guilty of reporting scandal in order to sell papers.4 → the guilty party —guiltily adverbGRAMMAR: Prepositions with guilty• You feel guilty about/for/at something you have done: She felt guilty about what had happened. I feel guilty for not doing more to help. • Someone is guilty of a crime or doing something wrong: They were guilty of murder.The government is guilty of mismanaging the economy. THESAURUS – Meaning 2: having done something that is a crimeguilty if someone is guilty of a crime or doing something wrong, they did it, and they should be punished for itShe was found guilty of murder.He was guilty of serious misconduct.The two guilty men were ordered to pay damages to their victims.responsible [not before noun] used when saying who should be blamed for something bad that has happenedPolice believe a local gang is responsible for the burglaries.As manager, he is ultimately responsible for the failure of the project.The other driver was responsible for the accident.be to blame if someone is to blame for a bad situation, they are responsibleThe government is partly to blame for the crisis.If anything goes wrong, it’s never him that is to blame.culpable /ˈkʌlpəbəl/ formal responsible for something bad or illegal, so that you deserve to be blamed or punishedThe people who helped the terrorists are equally culpable for what happened on July 7th.He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide (=being guilty of causing someone’s death). negligent /ˈneɡlɪdʒənt/ [not usually before noun] responsible for something bad that has happened, because you did not take enough care, or you did not try to stop it from happeningThe court decided that the railway company was negligent.be in the wrong to be responsible for an accident, mistake etc – used when deciding which person, group etc should be blamedThe other driver was clearly in the wrong. She always thinks it’s me who is in the wrong.incriminating used about things which seem to show that someone is guilty of a crimeincriminating evidenceincriminating documentsHe didn’t want to say anything incriminating.
Examples from the Corpus
guilty• Perhaps you felt guilty about ignoring a charity collection, and so decided to punish yourself?• The jury found Sewell guilty and he was sent to prison.• I felt so guilty, do you see, yet I felt so angry with myself for feeling that way.• Parents feel guilty, even if there is no way they could have influenced events.• Davis was found guilty of abducting and killing Polly Klaas.• Most therapists are probably guilty of at least one of these faults at some point in their career.• A 23-year-old woman was found guilty of murder in the Central Court today.• Roberts pleaded guilty to driving without insurance.• He later pleaded guilty to eight perjury counts resulting from testimony in drug cases.• The guilty were each given a life sentence.guilty conscience• Capitalism, in the United States, has often had a guilty conscience.• Failure was an abdication of personal responsibility, a cause of a guilty conscience.• Rob said. --- Thisis a guilty conscience.• Neil had a guilty conscience and Jessica had known it.• She owed her father nothing, not even the duty to clear his guilty conscience at the end.• Obviously he behaved in a highly suspicious manner today, but a guilty conscience can inspire one to do strange things.• A guilty conscience is apparent to its owner.pleaded guilty• Four co-defendants already have pleaded guilty.• The man, who pleaded guilty, received an 18-month suspended jail term at Truro crown court in July.• Operatives Sayers pleaded guilty to an offence under the Food Hygiene Act.• In effect Gingrich pleaded guilty to both offenses while seeking to minimize their importance.• All three pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal.• Mirretti had pleaded guilty to fraud, bribery, theft and conspiracy to obstruct a criminal investigation.• Black pleaded guilty to the theft and obtaining £85 by deception from Wagers bookmakers.be guilty of doing something• Freud was guilty of this reductionism.• He does not believe himself to be guilty of murder, and yet he now faces between and fifteen years' imprisonment.• If they do not, they will be guilty of the worst sort of hypocrisy.• Lord Denning stated: A very young child can not be guilty of contributory negligence.• She was held to be guilty of theft.• There was a trial in early May this year, to determine whether Hughes was guilty of reckless driving.• There was no doubt that these men were guilty of subverting the constitution, if not of outright treason to the republic. 