guilt trip

What is the opposite of guilt trip? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.

Noun — A deliberate attempt to make someone feel bad about themselves so that they will do what you want.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun informal

A deliberate attempt to make someone feel bad about themselves so that they will do what you want.

“Every time I mention moving abroad, my mother lays on the guilt trip.”

emotional blackmail manipulation browbeating

2. verb informal

To make someone feel guilty in order to pressure them into acting a certain way.

“Don't let them guilt trip you into working the weekend.”

manipulate pressure shame browbeat

How to use guilt trip

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

lay a guilt trip on send someone on a guilt trip guilt-trip someone into

Informal but widely used, including in journalism and psychology writing.

Etymology

From guilt + trip. First use appears c. 1972 in the novel Any Minute I Can Split by Judith Rossner.

Full origin of guilt trip →

Frequently asked questions

Is a guilt trip a form of manipulation?

Yes, when it is aimed at someone else. It works by making a person feel responsible for the speaker's unhappiness so that agreeing feels like the only decent option. It is generally regarded as unhealthy in close relationships.

How do you spell it as a verb?

Both guilt trip and guilt-trip are accepted. The hyphen is more usual in verb forms, especially guilt-tripped and guilt-tripping.

What is the difference between a guilt trip and shaming?

Shaming attacks who a person is; a guilt trip targets what they did or failed to do. A guilt trip also usually has a request behind it, whereas shaming may simply be punishment.

People also searched

pressure shame manipulation manipulate browbeat

Nearby words

← Back to the full definition of guilt trip