responsible
Americanadjective
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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
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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.
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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
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able to discharge obligations or pay debts.
- Synonyms:
- solvent
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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
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having control or authority (over)
-
being accountable for one's actions and decisions (to)
to be responsible to one's commanding officer
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(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
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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. )
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.
