responsible

re·spon·si·ble  (r-spns-bl)

adj.

1. Liable to be required to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust.

2. Involving personal accountability or ability to act without guidance or superior authority: a responsible position within the firm.

3. Being a source or cause.

4. Able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior.

5. Able to be trusted or depended upon; reliable.

6. Based on or characterized by good judgment or sound thinking: responsible journalism.

7. Having the means to pay debts or fulfill obligations.

8. Required to render account; answerable: The cabinet is responsible to the parliament.

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

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re·sponsi·ble·ness n.

re·sponsi·bly adv.

Synonyms: responsible, answerable, liable, accountable, amenable
These adjectives share the meaning obliged to answer, as for one's actions, to an authority that may impose a penalty for failure. Responsible often implies the satisfactory performance of duties or the trustworthy care for or disposition of possessions: "I am responsible for the ship's safety" (Robert Louis Stevenson).
Answerable suggests a moral or legal responsibility subject to review by a higher authority: The court held the parents answerable for their minor child's acts of vandalism.
Liable may refer to a legal obligation, as to pay damages or to perform jury duty: Wage earners are liable to income tax.
Accountable especially emphasizes giving an account of one's discharge of a responsibility: "The liberal philosophy holds that enduring governments must be accountable to someone beside themselves" (Walter Lippmann).
Amenable implies being subject to the control of an authority and therefore the absence of complete autonomy: "There is no constitutional tribunal to which [the king] is amenable" (Alexander Hamilton). See Also Synonyms at reliable.

Usage Note: Some critics have maintained that responsible should not be used to describe things, since only persons can be held accountable. The application to things is justifiable, however, when responsible is used to mean "being the source or cause of." In an earlier survey, a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the sentence Faulty construction was responsible for the crash.

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responsible

Adjective

1. responsible for having control or authority over

2. being the agent or cause (of some action): only a small number of students were responsible for the disturbances

3. responsible to being accountable for one's actions and decisions to: management should be made more responsible to shareholders

4. rational and accountable for one's own actions

5. (of a position or duty) involving decision and accountability [Latin respondere to respond]

responsibly adv

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	responsible - worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable; "a responsible adult"; "responsible journalism"; "a responsible position"; "the captain is responsible for the ship's safety"; "the cabinet is responsible to the parliament" obligated - caused by law or conscience to follow a certain course; "felt obligated to repay the kindness"; "was obligated to pay off the student loan" prudent - careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment; "a prudent manager"; "prudent rulers"; "prudent hesitation"; "more prudent to hide than to fight" trustworthy, trusty - worthy of trust or belief; "a trustworthy report"; "an experienced and trustworthy traveling companion" irresponsible - showing lack of care for consequences; "behaved like an irresponsible idiot"; "hasty and irresponsible action"
	2.	responsible - being the agent or cause; "determined who was the responsible party"; "termites were responsible for the damage" responsible for causative - producing an effect; "poverty as a causative factor in crime"
	3.	responsible - having an acceptable credit rating; "a responsible borrower" creditworthy trustworthy, trusty - worthy of trust or belief; "a trustworthy report"; "an experienced and trustworthy traveling companion"

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responsible

adjective 1. to blame, guilty, at fault, culpable

adjective 2. in charge, in control, at the helm, in authority, carrying the can (informal)

adjective 3. accountable, subject, bound, liable, amenable, answerable, duty-bound, chargeable, under obligation << OPPOSITE unaccountable

adjective 4. sensible, sound, adult, stable, mature, reliable, rational, sober, conscientious, dependable, trustworthy, level-headed << OPPOSITE unreliable

adjective 5. authoritative, high, important, executive, decision-making

Translations

responsible [rɪsˈpɔnsɪbl] adj (= liable): responsible (for) → responsable (de); [character] → serio, formal; [job] → de responsabilidad;

to be responsible to sb (for sth) → ser responsable ante algn (de algo)

responsible [rɪsˈpɔnsɪbl] adj (= liable);

responsible (for) → responsable (de); [person] → digne de confiance; [job] → qui comporte des responsabilités;

to be responsible to sb (for sth) → être responsable devant qn (de qch)

responsible [rɪsˈpɔnsɪbl] adj → verantwortlich;

(reliable, important) → verantwortungsvoll;

to be responsible for sth → für etw verantwortlich sein;

to be responsible for doing sth → dafür verantwortlich sein, etw zu tun;

to be responsible to sb → jdm gegenüber verantwortlich sein

responsible [rɪsˈpɔnsɪbl] adj (= liable): responsible (for) → responsabile (di) (= trustworthy); fidato/a; [job] → di (grande) responsabilità;

to be responsible to sb (for sth) → dover rispondere a qn (di qc)