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

“I don’t think the market is going to get the clarity it wants, because it’s not an easily answerable question and it’s not one that can be answered in the near term,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

She said it meant Lowe was "answerable to the House" about the allegations, and that it was not "the constitutional role of the court to supervise or interfere with that".

From BBC

"Banks aren't truly answerable to their customers and they hold the power to freeze or close your account based on broad, often vague reasons," he argues.

From BBC

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

Related Words

• accountable
• amenable
• liable
• obligated
• obliged