the state of having committed an offense
"He felt a deep sense of guilt after realizing he had accidentally damaged his friend's car."
remorse caused by feeling responsible for some offense
"She felt deep guilt after realizing she had accidentally broken her friend's favorite vase."
Responsibility for wrongdoing.
"The court assigned full guilt to the driver who ran the red light and caused the accident."
In plain English: Guilt is the uncomfortable feeling you get when you know you did something wrong and hurt someone else.
"She felt deep guilt after forgetting her friend's birthday."
To commit offenses; act criminally.
"The spy's actions were not just negligence, but a deliberate attempt to guilt the nation by selling its secrets."
In plain English: To feel guilty is to have an uncomfortable feeling that you did something wrong and hurt someone else's feelings.
"The jury found him guilty of theft after reviewing all the evidence."
The word guilt comes from Old English, where it originally meant sin or offense. Its roots may lie in a concept related to paying a debt or requiting punishment, though its exact origin remains unclear.