responsibility

[ri-spon-suh-bil-i-tee]

noun

plural

responsibilities 

1. the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.

   Synonyms: accountability, answerability

2. an instance of being responsible.

   The responsibility for this mess is yours!

3. a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible.

   the responsibilities of authority.

4. a person or thing for which one is responsible.

   A child is a responsibility to their parents.

5. reliability or dependability, especially in meeting debts or payments.

responsibility

/ rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or position of being responsible

2. a person or thing for which one is responsible

3. the ability or authority to act or decide on one's own, without supervision

Other Word Forms

• nonresponsibility noun
• preresponsibility noun
• self-responsibility noun
• superresponsibility noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of responsibility¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on one's own responsibility, on one's own initiative or authority.

   He changed the order on his own responsibility.

Example Sentences

On Thursday, the juvenile court of nearby Aquila suspended the couple's parental responsibility and ordered the transfer of the children to a protective home with their mother.

Read more on Barron's

According to Oxfordshire County Council, teaching children in a more inclusive setting can only work when schools have the necessary leadership and ambition to take on the additional responsibilities.

Read more on BBC

It took the view that officers "may potentially have breached police standards of professional behaviour relating to duties and responsibilities".

Read more on BBC

If you’re living in a high fire hazard area, the philosophy goes, it is your responsibility to defend your property and keep yourself alive amid strained fire resources.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This additional responsibility helps explain why the absence of HSL results in lipodystrophy, and it offers new insights into metabolic disorders such as obesity and related health complications.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• authority 
• burden 
• duty 
• guilt 
• importance 
• liability 
• obligation 
• power 
• restraint 
• trust