1. guilt or responsibility for causing someone's death; the state of being guilty of murder or bloodshed
Usage: formal or literary; often used in religious or moral contexts

Examples

• The king bore the bloodguilt of the innocent soldiers who died in his unjust war.
• In the biblical narrative, Cain carried the bloodguilt of his brother Abel's murder.
• The general refused to accept bloodguilt for decisions made by his subordinates.
• Medieval texts often described how bloodguilt could curse a family for generations.
• She felt a deep sense of bloodguilt after the accident, though she was not legally responsible.