guilt

/ɡɪlt/

//ɡɪlt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"guilt" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“guilt” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,796. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,796
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Responsibility for wrongdoing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-guilt · guilt · English

guilt · rank #5,796 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,796
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH goodness

Nearest frequency peer: goodness (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “guilt”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “guilt” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

guilt vs gut
60% similar
guilt vs gul
60% similar
guilt vs gulf
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for guilt
PropertyValue
Headwordguilt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɪlt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,796
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “guilt”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).guiltlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “goodness” (#5,795), “haven” (#5,797), “gentlemen” (#5,794). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “guilt” is #5,796. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around guilt (IPA /ɡɪlt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,796 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for guilt, with forms such as "gguilt", "giult", and "guillt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "gut", "gul", "gulf", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin, but possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”), whence yield. More specifically it could be connected with Proto-West … The correct English form is guilt, spelled G-U-I-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Responsibility for wrongdoing.
  2. 2
    The state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.
  3. 3
    Regret for having done wrong.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how guilt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Appropriate guilt is experienced when we actually do something objectively wrong—for example, exploit another, betray a trust, and so on. […] Inappropriate guilt occurs from believing a lie and is resolved by an application of the truth.

Etymology

From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin, but possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”), whence yield. More specifically it could be connected with Proto-West Germanic *guldijā, whence Middle Low German gülde, Middle High German gülte (“debt, fee, financial duty”). However, neither the Old English stem form nor the -t (instead of -d) fit the continental form.

Synonyms

blameworthinessculpabilityguiltguiltinessnoninnocenceuninnocence

Antonyms

innocence

This word in other languages

culpa(Español)culpabilité(Français)Schuld(Deutsch)culpa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • gguilt
  • giult
  • guillt
  • guiltt
  • guitl
  • gulit
  • ugilt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of guilt - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

gguilt1giult2guillt1guiltt1guitl2gulit2ugilt2
Edit distance from "guilt"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "guilt"?
"guilt" is spelled G-U-I-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɪlt/.
What does "guilt" mean?
As a noun, "guilt" means: Responsibility for wrongdoing.
What words are commonly confused with "guilt"?
"guilt" is commonly confused with "gut", "gul", "gulf". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "guilt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "guilt" is /ɡɪlt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "guilt"?
From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin, but possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”), whence yield. More specifically it could be connected with P... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "guilt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

haven#5,797Kenya#5,805eaten#5,786eagle#5,785

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

fitted7 variantslesser7 variantscabin7 variantsPutin7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list