Search from various English teachers...
ㅤㅤㅤ
What are the differences among "wrongdoing", "guilt", "fault" and "mistake"?
I am confused when exactly to use each word. Sometimes I feel they are interchangeable but they might not.
What are the differences? In what situations do you use these words?
Thank you.
Dec 21, 2018 5:32 AM
Answers · 3
3
All of these words are related but they are not synonyms and not really interchangeable.
Like fault and mistake. A mistake is when you intend to do something correctly, but you mess up, it's a mistake. Or any error that occurred is also a mistake. But if you are the one who made the mistake, then we say it is your fault(the blame is on you). "It's my fault things turned out this way, I made a mistake".
Guilt is an emotion, when you experience guilt we say you feel guilty. So you could say, "I feel guilty, because I made a mistake. It was my fault". Or, "I think he feels guilty because of the mistake he made. He blames himself."
A wrongdoing is not exactly the same as a mistake or a fault. A wrongdoing could be a mistake, but mistake implies more of an accident, whereas wrongdoing implies intent. "The kid stole all the candy" is a wrongdoing, but "He messed up his presentation" is a mistake, not a wrongdoing. Wrongdoing usually implies something morally wrong was done.
Hope this helps!
December 21, 2018
2
:-) additionally, you can be 'guilty' of something without feeling 'guilty'
"He was found guilty of stealing" - he was found to have been responsible for the theft
December 21, 2018
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
ㅤㅤㅤ
Language Skills
English, Other
Learning Language
English
Articles You May Also Like

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
10 likes · 7 Comments

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
12 likes · 9 Comments

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
8 likes · 2 Comments
More articles