1
general::
guilty
if someone is guilty of a crime or doing something wrong, they did it, and they should be punished for it:
• She 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 happened:
• Police 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 responsible:
• The government is partly to blame for the crisis. • If anything goes wrong, it’s never him that is to blame.
culpable
formal responsible for something bad or illegal, so that you deserve to be blamed or punished:
• The 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
[ 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 happening:
• The 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 blamed:
• The 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 crime:
• incriminating evidence • incriminating documents • He didn’t want to say anything incriminating.
Longman-Thesaurus
2
general::
adj. feeling/showing guilt VERBS feel, look ADV. extremely, incredibly, really, terribly, very She's got a terribly guilty conscience about it. | almost I feel almost guilty that so many good things are happening to us. | a bit, faintly, a little, rather, slightly, somewhat, vaguely She was looking rather guilty when I came into the room. | oddly, ridiculously PREP. about I feel very guilty about leaving her. having broken the law/done sth wrong VERBS be, plead He pleaded guilty to starting the fire. | believe sb, presume sb No one believed him guilty of this terrible crime. A person should never be presumed guilty. | deem sb, find sb, hold sb, prove sb Company directors may be deemed guilty of an offence if their company causes pollution. He was found guilty of murder. ADV. certainly, clearly She was certainly guilty, but the police couldn't prove it. PREP. of She was guilty of fraud.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary