guilty
/ˈɡɪl.ti/adjective, noun
guilty is spelled G-U-I-L-T-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 41 times per million words in written English, the 2,438th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, guilty means “Responsible for a dishonest act” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in guilty?
| Letters | 6: G-U-I-L-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 41 times per million words; the 2,438th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is guilty?
Guilty appears 41 times per million words in written English, the 2,438th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce guilty?
- /ˈɡɪl.ti/
Guilty has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-guilty.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of guilty
- guiltier comparative
- more guilty comparative
- guiltiest superlative
- most guilty superlative
- guilties plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does guilty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Responsible for a dishonest act.
He was guilty of cheating at cards.
- 2
Judged to have committed a crime.
The guilty man was led away.
- 3
Having a sense of guilt.
Do you have a guilty conscience?
- 4
Blameworthy.
I have a guilty secret.
noun
- 1
A plea by a defendant who does not contest a charge.
- 2
A verdict of a judge or jury on a defendant judged to have committed a crime.
- 3
One who is declared guilty of a crime.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Guilty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coupable |
| German | schuldig , fehlbar , schuldbewusst , tadelnswert |
| Portuguese | culpado |
| Spanish | culpable, nocente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does guilty come from?
From Middle English gilty, gulty, from Old English gyltiġ (“offending, guilty”); equivalent to guilt + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).