responsibility

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty  (r-spns-bl-t)

n. pl. re·spon·si·bil·i·ties

1. The state, quality, or fact of being responsible.

2. Something for which one is responsible; a duty, obligation, or burden.

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responsibility [rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ]

n pl -ties

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

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1. The obligation to carry forward an assigned task to a successful conclusion. With responsibility goes authority to direct and take the necessary action to ensure success.
2. The obligation for the proper custody, care, and safekeeping of property or funds entrusted to the possession or supervision of an individual. See also accountability.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	responsibility - the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force; "we must instill a sense of duty in our children"; "every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr duty, obligation job - the responsibility to do something; "it is their job to print the truth" safekeeping, guardianship, keeping - the responsibility of a guardian or keeper; "he left his car in my keeping" social control - control exerted (actively or passively) by group action moral obligation - an obligation arising out of considerations of right and wrong; "he did it out of a feeling of moral obligation" noblesse oblige - the obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous (often used ironically) burden of proof - the duty of proving a disputed charge civic duty, civic responsibility - the responsibilities of a citizen filial duty - duty of a child to its parents imperative - some duty that is essential and urgent incumbency - a duty that is incumbent upon you legal duty - acts which the law requires be done or forborne line of duty - all that is normally required in some area of responsibility white man's burden - the supposed responsibility of the white race to provide care for their non-white subjects prerequisite, requirement - something that is required in advance; "Latin was a prerequisite for admission" requirement, demand - required activity; "the requirements of his work affected his health"; "there were many demands on his time"
	2.	responsibility - the proper sphere or extent of your activities; "it was his province to take care of himself" province arena, domain, sphere, orbit, area, field - a particular environment or walk of life; "his social sphere is limited"; "it was a closed area of employment"; "he's out of my orbit" ecclesiastical province - the district within the jurisdiction of an archbishop or a metropolitan or one of the territorial divisions of an ecclesiastical order; "the general of the Jesuits has several provinces under him"
	3.	responsibility - a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct; "he holds a position of great responsibility" responsibleness character, fibre, fiber - the inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions; "education has for its object the formation of character"- Herbert Spencer trustiness, trustworthiness - the trait of deserving trust and confidence fault - responsibility for a bad situation or event; "it was John's fault" accountability, answerability, answerableness - responsibility to someone or for some activity dependability, dependableness, reliability, reliableness - the quality of being dependable or reliable irresponsibility, irresponsibleness - a form of untrustworthiness; the trait of lacking a sense of responsibility and not feeling accountable for your actions

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responsibility

noun

1. duty, business, job, role, task, function, burden, liability, accountability, onus, answerability The 600 properties were his responsibility.

2. fault, blame, liability, guilt, culpability, burden They have admitted responsibility for the accident.

3. obligation, duty, liability, charge, care This helps employees balance work and family responsibilities.

4. authority, power, control, management, leadership, importance, mana (N.Z.) a better-paying job with more responsibility

5. job, task, function, role, pigeon (informal) I'm glad it's not my responsibility to be their guardian

6. level-headedness, stability, maturity, common sense, reliability, rationality, reasonableness, dependability, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, soberness, sensibleness I think she's shown responsibility.

Related words
fear hypegiaphobia

Quotations
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" [William Shakespeare Henry IV, part 2]
"The buck stops here" [Harry S. Truman motto on his desk at the White House]

Translations

responsibility [rɪsˌpɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ] N

1. (= liability) → responsabilidad f
he has accepted or admitted responsibility for the tragedy → ha aceptado ser responsable de la tragedia
the group which claimed responsibility for the attack → el grupo que reivindicó el atentado
joint responsibility → responsabilidad f conjunta
to place or put the responsibility for sth on sb → hacer a algn responsable de algo, hacer que la responsabilidad de algo recaiga sobre algn
shared responsibility → responsabilidad f compartida
the company takes no responsibility for objects left here → la empresa no asume responsabilidad por los objetos que se dejen aquí, la empresa no se responsabiliza de los objetos que se dejen aquí
see also diminished

2. (= duty, obligation) → responsabilidad f
that's his responsibility → eso es responsabilidad suya
she's not your responsibility → ella no es responsabilidad tuya, ella no está bajo tu responsabilidad
it's a big responsibility for him → supone una gran responsabilidad para él
it's my responsibility to lock up → cerrar es responsabilidad mía, yo soy el responsable de cerrar
she didn't want to take on more responsibilities → no quería asumir más responsabilidades
you have a responsibility to your family → tienes una responsabilidad con or hacia tu familia

3. (= authority, accountability) → responsabilidad f
she wants a position with more responsibility → quiere un puesto de mayor responsabilidad
to have responsibility for sth → ser responsable de algo
to take on/take over (the) responsibility for sth → asumir la responsabilidad de algo, responsabilizarse de algo, hacerse responsable de algo

4. (= maturity) → responsabilidad f
try to show some responsibility → a ver si somos más responsables
he has no sense of responsibility → no tiene ningún sentido de la responsabilidad

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responsibility [rɪˌspɒnsɪˈbɪləti] n

(= authority, control) → responsabilité f
Women still take most of the responsibility for the children → Les femmes assument toujours la plupart des responsabilités liées aux enfants.
a position of responsibility
He was in a position of responsibility → Il avait un poste à responsabilités.
to have responsibility for sb
He has responsibility for five employees → Il a cinq employés sous sa responsabilité., Il a la responsabilité de cinq employés.

(= blame) → responsabilité f
to take responsibility for sth → assumer la responsabilité de qch
Someone had to take responsibility for the mistake → Quelqu'un devait assumer la responsabilité de l'erreur.
to claim responsibility for sth → revendiquer la responsabilité de qch
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks → Personne n'a revendiqué la responsabilité des attentats.
to admit responsibility for sth
British Rail has admitted responsibility for the accident → British Rail a admis sa responsabilité dans l'accident.
I made a mistake and I will assume responsibility for it → J'ai commis une erreur et j'en assumerai la responsabilité.

(= duty) → responsabilité f
work and family responsibilities → des responsabilités professionnelles et familiales
to be sb's responsibility
The steering of the ship remained his responsibility → Le pilotage du navire restait sous sa responsabilité.
It's not my responsibility → Cela n'est pas de ma responsabilité.
his responsibilities include ... → ses responsabilités incluent ... .
to have a responsibility to sb → être responsable devant qn

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responsibility

n

no pl → Verantwortung f; to put or place the responsibility for something on somebody → jdm die Verantwortung für etw übertragen; to take or assume (full) responsibility (for something) → die (volle) Verantwortung (für etw) übernehmen; the management takes no responsibility for objects left here → die Firma haftet nicht für liegen gelassene Gegenstände; that’s his responsibility → dafür ist er verantwortlich; she’s his responsibility → er hat die Verantwortung für sie; it’s not my responsibility to do that → ich bin nicht dafür verantwortlich, das zu tun; on one’s own responsibility → auf eigene Verantwortung; sense of responsibility → Verantwortungsgefühl nt; responsibility payment → Verantwortlichkeitszuschlag m

(= duty, burden) → Verpflichtung f → (to für); the responsibilities of state → die staatsmännischen Pflichten; the responsibilities of office → die Dienstpflichten pl

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responsibility [rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ] n → responsabilità f inv
to place the responsibility for sth on sb → ritenere qn responsabile di qc
on one's own responsibility → di propria iniziativa
to take responsibility for sth/sb → assumersi or prendersi la responsabilità di qc/per qn
that's his responsibility → è compito suo

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responsibility → مسؤولية odpovědnost ansvar Verantwortung ευθύνη responsabilidad vastuu responsabilité odgovornost responsabilità 責任 책임 verantwoordelijkheid ansvar odpowiedzialność responsabilidade ответственность ansvar ความรับผิดชอบ sorumluluk trách nhiệm 责任