Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Liable to be required to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust.
  • adjective Required to render account; answerable.
  • adjective Involving important duties, the supervision of others, or the ability to make decisions with little supervision.
  • adjective Being a source or cause.
  • adjective Able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior.
  • adjective Able to be trusted or depended upon; trustworthy or reliable.
  • adjective Based on or characterized by good judgment or sound thinking.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Correspondent; answering; responsive.
  • Answerable, as for an act performed or for its consequences, or for a trust reposed or a debt; accountable; specifically, in ethics, in general, having such a mental or moral character as to be capable of knowing and observing the distinction of right from wrong in conduct, and therefore morally accountable for one's acts; in particular (with reference to a certain act), acting or having acted as a free agent, and with knowledge of the ethical character of the act or of its consequences.
  • Able to answer or respond to any reasonable claim or to what is expected; able to discharge an obligation, or having estate adequate to the payment of a debt.
  • Involving responsibility.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Liable to respond; likely to be called upon to answer; accountable; answerable; amenable.
  • adjective Able to respond or answer for one's conduct and obligations; trustworthy, financially or otherwise.
  • adjective Involving responsibility; involving a degree of accountability on the part of the person concerned.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically.
  • adjective Capable of responding to any reasonable claim; able to answer reasonably for one's conduct and obligations; capable of rational conduct.
  • adjective Involving responsibility; involving a degree of personal accountability on the part of the person concerned.
  • adjective Being a primary cause or agent of some event or action; capable of being credited for something, or of being held liable for something.
  • adjective Able to be trusted; reliable; trustworthy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective being the agent or cause
  • adjective worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
  • adjective having an acceptable credit rating

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Obsolete French, corresponding to, from Latin respōnsus, past participle of respondēre, to respond; see respond.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French responsable, from Latin responsus, from respondere

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Examples

  • Formerly, if any one said, “I am not alone responsible for this,” he was understood to mean (what alone his words mean in correct English), that he is not the sole person responsible; but if he now used such an expression, the reader would be confused between that and two other meanings: that he is not _only responsible_ but something more; or that he is responsible _not only for this_ but for something besides.

    A System Of Logic, Ratiocinative And Inductive John Stuart Mill 1839

  • Kundra is responsible for «responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs, » Obama said.

    unknown title 2009

  • Kundra is responsible for «responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs, » Obama said.

    unknown title 2009

  • The main responsible is the officer who pushed the “fire” button.

    Think Progress » ThinkFast: May 9, 2006 2006

  • The main responsible is the officer who pushed the “fire” button.

    Think Progress » ThinkFast: May 9, 2006 2006

  • The main responsible is the officer who pushed the “fire” button.

    Think Progress » ThinkFast: May 9, 2006 2006

  • Young God Records is the New York-based indie founded by Swans / Angels of Light Michael Gira, the label responsible for discovering Devendra Banhart and releasing music from the likes of Akron / Family and

    Pitchfork: Latest News 2009

  • Young God Records is the New York-based indie founded by Swans / Angels of Light Michael Gira, the label responsible for discovering Devendra Banhart and releasing music from the likes of Akron / Family and

    Pitchfork: Latest News 2009

  • Young God Records is the New York-based indie founded by Swans / Angels of Light Michael Gira, the label responsible for discovering Devendra Banhart and releasing music from the likes of Akron / Family and

    Pitchfork: Latest News 2009

  • Young God Records is the New York-based indie founded by Swans / Angels of Light Michael Gira, the label responsible for discovering Devendra Banhart and releasing music from the likes of Akron / Family and

    Pitchfork: Latest News 2009

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