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definitions

liable

[lahy-uh-buhl]
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adjective

legally responsible: You are liable for the damage caused by your action.
subject or susceptible: to be liable to heart disease.
likely or apt: He's liable to get angry.

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RELATED WORDS

accountable, amenable, susceptible, inclined, apt, sensitive, vulnerable, prone, bound, chargeable, obligated, subject, tied, assailable, disposed, exposed, given, penetrable, tending, vincible

Nearby words

  1. liabilities,
  2. liability,
  3. liability engineering,
  4. liability insurance,
  5. liability limit,
  6. liaise,
  7. liaison,
  8. liaison officer,
  9. liakoura,
  10. liana

Origin of liable

1535–45; < Anglo-French li(er) to bind (< Latin ligāre) + -able
Related formsnon·li·a·ble, adjectivepre·li·a·ble, adjectiveun·li·a·ble, adjective
Can be confuseddefamation liable libel slander (see usage note at the current entry)liable libel

Usage note

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for liable

British Dictionary definitions for liable

liable

adjective (postpositive)

legally obliged or responsible; answerable
susceptible or exposed; subject
probable, likely, or capableit's liable to happen soon
Derived Formsliableness, noun

Word Origin for liable

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

usage

The use of liable to to mean likely to was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for liable

liable

adj.

mid-15c., "bound or obliged by law," probably from Anglo-French *liable, from Old French lier "to bind, tie up, fasten, tether; bind by obligation," from Latin ligare "to bind, to tie" (see ligament). With -able. General sense of "exposed to" (something undesirable) is from 1590s. Incorrect use for "likely" is attested by 1886.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper