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Obligation vs Guilt - What's the difference?

obligation | guilt |

In legal|lang=en terms the difference between obligation and guilt

is that obligation is (legal) a legal agreement stipulating a specified payment or action; the document containing such agreement while guilt is (legal) the state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.

As nouns the difference between obligation and guilt

is that obligation is the act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone while guilt is responsibility for wrongdoing.

As a verb guilt is

(obsolete) to commit offenses; act criminally.

obligation

English

(wikipedia obligation)

Noun

(en noun)
  • The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone.
  • A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action.
  • A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted.
  • (legal) A legal agreement stipulating a specified payment or action; the document containing such agreement.
    • X shall be entitled to subcontract its obligation to provide the Support Services. <>
  • * 1668 December 19, , “Mr.'' Alexander Seaton ''contra'' Menzies” in ''The Deci?ions of the Lords of Council & Se??ion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575
    • The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Di?charge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extingui?h the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and con?equently of all the re?t, they being all correi debendi , lyable by one individual Obligation , which cannot be Di?charged as to one, and ?tand as to all the re?t.

    Usage notes

    * Adjectives often used with "obligation": moral, legal, social, contractual, political, mutual, military, perpetual, etc.

    Synonyms

    * duty

    Antonyms

    * right

    Related terms

    * obligate * obligated * obligational * obligato * obligatorily * oblige * obligee * obliger * obliging * obligingly * obligingness * obligor

    guilt

    English

    (wikipedia guilt)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) gilt, gult, from (etyl) . See (l).

    Noun

    (-)
  • Responsibility for wrongdoing.
  • Awareness of having done wrong.
  • The fact of having done wrong.
  • (legal) The state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.
    • Antonyms
    * innocence
    Derived terms
    * beguilt * guiltless * guiltlessness * guilty * guilt-sick * guilt trip * unguilt
    See also
    * regret * remorse

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) gilten, gylten, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To commit offenses; act criminally.
  • To cause someone to feel guilt, particularly in order to influence their behaviour.
    • He didn't want to do it, but his wife guilted him into it.
  • * 1988 , , Healing the shame that binds you ,
    • Shame based parents would have guilted him for expressing anger.
  • * 1992 , , Codependent No More: how to stop controlling others and start caring for yourself ,
    • We don't have to be manipulated, guilted , coerced, or forced into anything.
  • * 1995 , , True Betrayals ,
    • But I won't be threatened or bribed or guilted into giving up something that's important to me.