responsibility

American  

[ri-spon-suh-bil-i-tee] / rɪˌspɒn səˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

responsibilities

1. the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.

   Synonyms:

   accountability, answerability

2. an instance of being responsible.

   The responsibility for this mess is yours!

3. a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible.

   the responsibilities of authority.

4. a person or thing for which one is responsible.

   A child is a responsibility to their parents.

5. reliability or dependability, especially in meeting debts or payments.

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idioms

1. on one's own responsibility, on one's own initiative or authority.

   He changed the order on his own responsibility.

responsibility British  

/ rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or position of being responsible

2. a person or thing for which one is responsible

3. the ability or authority to act or decide on one's own, without supervision

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Other Word Forms

• nonresponsibility
  noun
• preresponsibility
  noun
• self-responsibility
  noun
• superresponsibility
  noun

Etymology

Origin of responsibility

First recorded in 1780–90; respons(ible) + -ibility

Explanation

A responsibility is something you're required to do as an upstanding member of a community. If you're in a band, it's your responsibility to learn the songs and show up to practice on time. Responsibility comes from the Latin responsus, which means "to respond." There are actually a few different definitions of the noun. It can be another word for "trustworthiness," as in, "He demonstrated his responsibility by showing up to practice on time." And it can be used to describe the social force that motivates us to take on individual responsibilities, as in, "A sense of responsibility drove him to memorize all of the songs."

Example Sentences

Responsibility can then remain diffuse, so people can talk about mistakes without the emotional hit of assigning blame.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

In 1996, he sharply criticized the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which cut federal benefits for many legal immigrants.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

A left-leaning watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also expressed concerns.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

The Office of Budget Responsibility has said "the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to zero."

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

At Truman, Wayne is known as a straight arrow, Mr. Responsibility.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Related Words

• authority
• burden
• duty
• guilt
• importance
• liability
• obligation
• power
• restraint
• trust