Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: LAW

Language: Old English
Origin: gylt

guilt

1 noun
     
guilt1 [uncountable]
1 a strong feeling of shame and sadness because you know that you have done something wrongCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
feeling/sense of guilt consumed/overwhelmed/racked with/by guilt (=feeling very guilty) pang/twinge/stab of guilt (=a sudden feeling of guilt) guilt complex (=when you cannot stop feeling very guilty) burden of guilt (=a strong feeling of guilt)
He used to buy them expensive presents, out of guilt.
guilt about/at/over
Don't you have any feelings of guilt about leaving David?
He felt an enormous sense of guilt when he thought about how he'd treated her.
I was racked with guilt at my part in making her this unhappy.
Sometimes I felt little pangs of guilt.
2SCL the fact that you have broken an official law or moral rule [≠ innocence]:
He did not deny his guilt.
3 responsibility and blame for something bad that has happened
guilt for
Guilt for poorly behaved children usually lies with the parents.
4

be on a guilt trip

informal to have a feeling of guilt about something when it is unreasonable
5

lay a guilt trip on somebody

American English informal to make someone feel bad about something:
I wish my parents would stop laying a guilt trip on me for not going to college.
Definition of guilt from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic LAW
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