answerable

American  

[an-ser-uh-buhl, ahn-] / ˈæn sər ə bəl, ˈɑn- /

adjective

1. liable to be asked to give account; responsible.

   He is answerable to a committee for all his decisions.

2. capable of being answered.

   a question answerable by mail.

3. proportionate; correlative (usually followed byto ).

4. corresponding; suitable (usually followed byto ).

   The amount is not answerable to my needs.

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answerable British  

/ ˈɑːnsərəbəl /

adjective

1. (postpositive; foll by for or to) responsible or accountable

   answerable for someone's safety

   answerable to one's boss

2. able to be answered

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Other Word Forms

• answerability noun
• answerableness noun
• answerably adverb

Etymology

Origin of answerable

First recorded in 1540–50; answer + -able

Example Sentences

The watchdog's chief executive Vijay Rangarajan said there was "a clear conflict of interest in asking existing councils to decide how long it will be before they are answerable to voters".

From BBC

They had put their lives on the line to create a democratic republic, answerable to the people and not a king.

From Salon

It also meant that Buckingham Palace stopped being answerable for his behaviour.

From BBC

The commissioner would be in charge of ensuring standards of care for victims and would answerable to parliament.

From BBC

So, at Alpine, for example, he would ultimately be answerable to Renault's board.

From BBC

Related Words

• accountable
• amenable
• liable
• obligated
• obliged