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responsibility

[ ri-spon-suh-bil-i-tee ]
/ rɪˌspɒn səˈbɪl ɪ ti /
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See synonyms for: responsibility / responsibilities on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.
the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.
an instance of being responsible: The responsibility for this mess is yours!
a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible: the responsibilities of authority.
a person or thing for which one is responsible: A child is a responsibility to its parents.
reliability or dependability, especially in meeting debts or payments.
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Idioms about responsibility

    on one's own responsibility, on one's own initiative or authority: He changed the order on his own responsibility.

Origin of responsibility

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

OTHER WORDS FROM responsibility

non·re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun, plural non·re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.pre·re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun, plural pre·re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.self-re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, nounsu·per·re·spon·si·bil·i·ty, noun, plural su·per·re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to responsibility

authority, burden, duty, guilt, importance, liability, obligation, power, restraint, trust, ability, capacity, efficiency, honesty, loyalty, stability, albatross, amenability, answerability, care

How to use responsibility in a sentence

  • They assume the non-responsibility of the community for anything beyond keeping the destitute applicant alive.

    English Poor Law Policy|Sidney Webb

British Dictionary definitions for responsibility

responsibility
/ (rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ) /
noun plural -ties
the state or position of being responsible
a person or thing for which one is responsible
the ability or authority to act or decide on one's own, without supervision
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
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