responsible
adjective
Simple meaning
Having a duty to look after something, or being the reason something happened.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
reespahnsuhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹisˈpɑnsəbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
postpositivefollowed by "for"
Having the duty of taking care of something; answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically.
postpositivefollowed by "for"
Being a primary cause of a situation or action and thus able to be blamed or credited for it.
Having good judgment in decision-making.
Able to be trusted; reliable; trustworthy.
followed by "to"
Answerable to (a superior).
Capable of rational conduct and thus morally accountable for one's behavior.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (postpositive, followed by "for") Having the duty of taking care of something; answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically.
Used this way, responsible is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use responsible
- “A responsible adult.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Containing or using responses.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
In a responsible manner.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: having the duty of taking care of something
Antonyms
Sense: having the duty of taking care of something
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.