responsible
Americanadjective
-
answerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management (often followed by to orfor ).
He is responsible to the president for his decisions.
- Synonyms:
- liable
-
involving accountability or responsibility, as in having the power to control or manage.
promoted to a responsible position in the firm.
-
chargeable with being the author, cause, or occasion of something (usually followed byfor ).
Termites were responsible for the damage.
-
having a capacity for moral decisions and therefore accountable; capable of rational thought or action.
The defendant is not responsible for his actions.
- Synonyms:
- competent
-
able to discharge obligations or pay debts.
- Synonyms:
- solvent
-
reliable or dependable, as in meeting debts, conducting business dealings, etc.
- Synonyms:
- trustworthy, reliable, capable, honest
-
(of a government, member of a government, government agency, or the like) answerable to or serving at the discretion of an elected legislature or the electorate.
adjective
-
having control or authority (over)
-
being accountable for one's actions and decisions (to)
to be responsible to one's commanding officer
-
(of a position, duty, etc) involving decision and accountability
-
(often foll by for) being the agent or cause (of some action)
to be responsible for a mistake
-
able to take rational decisions without supervision; accountable for one's own actions
a responsible adult
-
able to meet financial obligations; of sound credit
Other Word Forms
- interresponsible adjective
- nonresponsible adjective
- nonresponsibleness noun
- nonresponsibly adverb
- preresponsible adjective
- quasi-responsible adjective
- quasi-responsibly adverb
- responsibleness noun
- responsibly adverb
- superresponsible adjective
- superresponsibleness noun
- superresponsibly adverb
- unresponsible adjective
- unresponsibleness noun
- unresponsibly adverb
Etymology
Origin of responsible
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin respōns(us) ( response ( def. ) ) + -ible ( def. )
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.
Under the Constitution and federal law, states are responsible for running elections and maintaining lists of voters, including the addition of new ones and the removal of those who have become ineligible.
The world's food systems are responsible for more than one-third of all human greenhouse gas emissions.
From Science Daily
For that, Kelly was skewered on stage by Ben Shapiro, who incidentally was responsible for giving Owens her first podcast at the Daily Wire.
From Salon
The company also said it views AI as a way to complement rather than replace traditional play and is emphasizing safety, privacy, creativity and responsible innovation when building new products.
From Los Angeles Times
“I have questions after hearing all the stories: Where are the children, in cases where two parents, those responsible for the children, were deported? Where are those children?” she said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
