guilty pleasure
/ˈɡɪlti ˈplɛʒər/
Very CommonSomething you enjoy but feel like you shouldn't, usually because it's seen as lowbrow, cheesy, or embarrassing.
The 'guilty' part is often performative or joking. Most people use this phrase in a self-aware way, not out of actual shame.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | love island is my guilty pleasure and i will not apologize | The person watches it, knows it's not prestige TV, and doesn't care. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | my guilty pleasure is rewatching shrek at least once a month | The person repeatedly returns to something they find comfort in despite its reputation. | |
| 03 | fast food at 1am is a guilty pleasure i refuse to give up | The habit is known to be bad but the person indulges anyway. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | no guilty pleasures allowed here. just things you like | A rejection of the idea that enjoying lowbrow things requires shame. | tiktok, 2024 |
Use it when
- You enjoy something considered lowbrow or embarrassing.
- You're admitting to liking something you'd normally mock.
- You want to share a media habit with a self-deprecating disclaimer.
Do not use it when
- You genuinely feel no guilt about it. Just say you like it.
- The thing you enjoy is actually good by any reasonable standard.
Origin and context
Long-standing phrase in popular culture, used to describe lowbrow enjoyments since at least the 1980s. Internet culture adopted it as standard vocabulary for discussing media habits without shame.
- First seen
- 1980s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/guilty-pleasureUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0