liable

[lahy-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. legally responsible.

   You are liable for the damage caused by your action.

   Synonyms: accountable, answerable

2. subject or susceptible.

   to be liable to heart disease.

3. likely or apt.

   He's liable to get angry.

liable

/ ˈlaɪəbəl /

adjective

1. legally obliged or responsible; answerable

2. susceptible or exposed; subject

3. probable, likely, or capable

   it's liable to happen soon

Usage

Liable is often interchangeable with likely in constructions with a following infinitive where the sense is that of probability: The Sox are liable (or likely ) to sweep the Series. Some usage guides, however, say that liable can be used only in contexts in which the outcome is undesirable: The picnic is liable to be spoiled by rain. This use occurs often in formal writing but not to the exclusion of use in contexts in which the outcome is desirable: The drop in unemployment is liable to stimulate the economy. Apt may also be used in place of liable or likely in all the foregoing examples. See also apt, likely.

The use of liable to to mean likely to was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Other Word Forms

• nonliable adjective
• preliable adjective
• unliable adjective
• liableness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of liable¹

First recorded in 1535–45; from Anglo-French “to bind,” from Latin ligāre ) + -able

Word History and Origins

Origin of liable¹

C15: perhaps via Anglo-French, from Old French lier to bind, from Latin ligāre

Example Sentences

The Danish tax authority was left licking its wounds, after failing to establish that a large group of defendants, including Mr Bains, were liable for huge losses it had suffered.

Read more on BBC

It also requires volunteers to acknowledge the significant risks of injury and death by participating in the brigade, and that the Fire Department is not liable if something goes wrong.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He vetoed, however, a bill that would have made tech companies legally liable for harm caused by AI models.

Read more on Barron's

He has been compared to a pop star and certainly is liable to a few unconventional antics.

Read more on BBC

The Colorado Supreme Court accepted that distinction, concluding that regulating pollution is different from holding “upstream producers” liable for selling the products that cause it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• apt 
• inclined 
• prone 
• sensitive 
• susceptible 
• vulnerable