guiltware

G2U1I1L1T1W4A1R1E1

noun

Software that attempts to convince the user to fulfil some obligation (such as registration or donation to a charity) by eliciting feelings of guilt.

OriginEnglish softwarebf. ← Middle English ware ← Old English waru →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounguiltware (uncountable)
  1. informaluncountablecomputingSoftware that attempts to convince the user to fulfil some obligation (such as registration or donation to a charity) by eliciting feelings of guilt.

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*gulti?
  2. Old Englishgylt
  3. Middle Englishgilt
  4. Englishguilt
  5. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  6. Proto-Germanic*samþuz /*samftuz
  7. Proto-West Germanic*samft(ī)
  8. Old Englishsōfte
  9. Middle Englishsofte
  10. Englishsoft
  11. Proto-Germanic*warō
  12. Proto-West Germanic*waru
  13. Old Englishwaru
  14. Middle Englishware
  15. Englishsoftwarebf.
  16. Englishguiltware

From guilt + -ware.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

guiltware. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guiltware

MLA

“guiltware.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guiltware. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “guiltware,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guiltware.

Source: guiltware on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.