liable
Americanadjective
-
legally responsible.
You are liable for the damage caused by your action.
- Synonyms:
- accountable, answerable
-
subject or susceptible.
to be liable to heart disease.
-
likely or apt.
He's liable to get angry.
adjective
-
legally obliged or responsible; answerable
-
susceptible or exposed; subject
-
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
- liableness noun
- nonliable adjective
- preliable adjective
- unliable adjective
Etymology
Origin of liable
First recorded in 1535–45; from Anglo-French “to bind,” from Latin ligāre ) + -able
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
People were difficult—she felt herself grow spiky around them, liable to say the wrong thing and blush right up to her forehead—but the sky made perfect sense to her.
From Literature
If not, they can be classed as second homes and liable for council tax, which in some areas also means paying an additional premium.
From BBC
The plaintiff bar says media platforms are liable for adolescent ills.
Platforms would also become liable for social bullying, which they can’t control.
The outcome of the first case will serve as a litmus test of jury reaction to evidence presented by the plaintiffs about whether the companies should be held liable.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
