Responsible - Wiktionary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle French responsable, from Old French responsable, responsible, formed from the root of Latin responsus, from respondere. The spelling of the English word is taken from the Old French variant responsible. By surface analysis, response +‎ -ible.

Pronunciation

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• (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/, [ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bɫ̩]
• (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA(key): /ɹɪˈspɑn.sə.bəl/, [ɹɪˈspɑn.sə.bɫ̩]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA(key): /ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/, [ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bɫ̩]
• (General Australian) IPA(key): /ɹɪˈspɔn.sə.bəl/, [ɹɪˈspɔn.sə.bɫ̩]
• (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ɹəˈspɒn.sə.bəl/, [ɹəˈspɔ̟n.sə.bɫ̩]

Adjective

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responsible (comparative more responsible, superlative most responsible)

1. (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. Parents are responsible for their child's behaviour.
2. (postpositive, followed by "for") Being a primary cause of a situation or action and thus able to be blamed or credited for it. Who is responsible for this mess?
   • 2018 May 26, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London)‎[1]:[…]Karius was a danger to his own team, responsible for Madrid’s two other goals and last seen wandering aimlessly around the pitch – alone, distraught and clearly traumatised – to ask forgiveness, hands clasped, from the thousands of Liverpool supporters.
3. (followed by "to") Answerable to (a superior).
4. (of a job or position) Involving important duties; involving a degree of personal accountability on the part of the person concerned. She has a responsible position in the firm.
5. Having good judgment in decision-making.
   • 2012 March, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist‎[2], volume 100, number 2, page 87:But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
6. Able to be trusted; reliable; trustworthy. He looks like a responsible guy.
7. Capable of rational conduct and thus morally accountable for one's behavior.

Usage notes

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The meaning of the word changes to almost the opposite depending on whether it is used before or after a noun. For example:

The powerful Russians who didn't oppose Putin's successful grab for absolute power and the normal Russians who didn't protest against the first persecutions of journalists long ago are equally responsible for the destruction of Russia's first democracy, i.e. the citizens responsible were not responsible citizens.

Antonyms

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• irresponsible

Derived terms

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• co-responsible
• eco-responsible
• irresponsibility
• irresponsible
• nonresponsible
• responsibility
• responsibilize
• responsibleness
• responsible trading
• responsibly
• semiresponsible
• superresponsible
• unresponsible

Related terms

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• irresponsible
• respond
• response
• responsibility
• responsibleness
• responsibly

Translations

[edit] answerable for an act performed or for its consequences

Albanian: përgjegjës (sq) Arabic: مَسْؤُول (ar) (masʔūl), مَسْئُول (masʔūl) Aramaic: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܸܫܬܲܐܠܵܢܵܐ m (mištaˀlānā), ܡܸܫܬܲܠܵܢܬܵܐ f (mištallāntā), ܡܸܬܓ݂ܝܼܒ݂ܵܢܵܐ m (mitḡīḇānā) Armenian: պատասխանատու (hy) (patasxanatu) Azerbaijani: cavabdeh, sorğulu, məsul Bashkir: яуаплы (yawaplı) Belarusian: адка́зны m (adkázny), адпавяда́льны (adpavjadálʹny) Bengali: দায়ী (bn) (daẏi) Bulgarian: отгово́рен (bg) (otgovóren) Catalan: responsable (ca) Chinese: Cantonese: 有責任 / 有责任 (jau5 zaak3 jam6) Mandarin: 有責任 / 有责任 (yǒu zérèn) Czech: odpovědný (cs) Danish: ansvarlig (da) Dutch: verantwoordelijk (nl), aansprakelijk (nl) Estonian: vastutav Finnish: vastuussa French: responsable (fr) Galician: responsable (gl) Georgian: პასუხისმგებელი (ṗasuxismgebeli) German: verantwortlich (de) Greek: υπεύθυνος (el) (ypéfthynos) Ancient Greek: ὑπεύθυνος m (hupeúthunos) Hebrew: אַחְרָאִי (he) (akhra'i) Hindi: उत्तरदायी (hi) (uttardāyī), ज़िम्मेदार (zimmedār) Hungarian: felelős (hu) Icelandic: ábyrgur (is) Indonesian: bertanggung jawab (id) Italian: responsabile (it) Japanese: 責任のある (ja) (せきにんのある, sekinin no aru) Kazakh: жауапты (jauapty) Korean: 책임 있는 (chaegim inneun) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: mesûl (ku), berpirsyar (ku) Kyrgyz: жооптуу (ky) (jooptuu) Latvian: atbildīgs Lithuanian: atsakingas Macedonian: одговорен (odgovoren) Malay: bertanggungjawab Māori: haepapa, noho haepapa Mongolian: Cyrillic: хариуцлагатай (xariuclagataj) Mongolian script: ᠬᠠᠷᠢᠭᠤᠴᠠᠯᠭᠠᠲᠠᠢ (qariɣučalɣatai) Norman: responsabl'ye (Jersey) Norwegian: Bokmål: ansvarlig (no) Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can Occitan: responsable (oc) Pashto: مسؤل (masúl), ذمه دار (zemadār) Persian: مسئول (fa) (mas'ul), ذمه‌دار (zemme-dâr), جوابدار (javâbdâr) Polish: odpowiedzialny (pl) Portuguese: responsável (pt) Romanian: responsabil (ro) Russian: отве́тственный (ru) (otvétstvennyj) Scottish Gaelic: an urra ri, cùramach Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: о̏дгово̄ран Latin: ȍdgovōran (sh) Sicilian: rispunzàbbili Slovak: zodpovedný Slovene: odgovoren (sl) Spanish: responsable (es) Swedish: ansvarig (sv) Tagalog: mapanagutin Tajik: масъул (mas'ul), ҷавобгар (javobgar) Tatar: җаваплы (cawaplı) Thai: รับผิดชอบ (th) (ráp-pìt-chɔ̂ɔp) Turkish: sorumlu (tr), mesul (tr) Turkmen: jogapkär Ukrainian: відповіда́льний (vidpovidálʹnyj) Urdu: ذمہ دار (zimme-dār) Uyghur: جاۋابكار (jawabkar), مەسئۇل (mes'ul) Uzbek: javobgar (uz), masʼul (uz) Vietnamese: có trách nhiệm Walloon: responsåve (wa)

able to answer reasonably for one's conduct

Arabic: مُلام (mulām) Armenian: պատասխանատու (hy) (patasxanatu) Bashkir: яуаплы (yawaplı) Catalan: responsable (ca) Danish: ansvarsbevidst, ansvarlig (da) Dutch: verantwoordelijk (nl) French: responsable (fr) Galician: responsable (gl) m or f, responsábel (gl) m or f German: vernünftig (de) Hebrew: אַחְרָאִי (he) (akhra'i) Hungarian: felelősségteljes (hu), felelős (hu) Italian: responsabile (it) Norman: responsabl'ye m or f (Jersey) Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can Polish: odpowiedzialny (pl) Portuguese: responsável (pt) Romanian: responsabil (ro) m, responsabilă (ro) Russian: отве́тственный (ru) (otvétstvennyj) Scottish Gaelic: cùramach Serbo-Croatian: odgovoran (sh) m Sicilian: rispunzàbbili Spanish: responsable (es) Swedish: ansvarstagande (sv), ansvarsfull (sv), ansvarskännande Ukrainian: відповіда́льний (vidpovidálʹnyj)

involving a degree of personal accountability

Armenian: պատասխանատու (hy) (patasxanatu) Bashkir: яуаплы (yawaplı) Chinese: Mandarin: 有責任感的 / 有责任感的 (yǒu zérèngǎn de) Danish: ansvarsfuld Dutch: verantwoordelijk (nl), responsabel Finnish: vastuullinen (fi) French: responsable (fr) Galician: responsable (gl) m or f, responsábel (gl) m or f German: verantwortungsvoll (de) Hungarian: felelős (hu), felelősségteljes (hu), felelősséggel járó Indonesian: bertanggung jawab (id) Italian: di responsabile, di responsabilità Malay: bertanggungjawab Māori: haepapa Norman: responsabl'ye m or f (Jersey) Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can Portuguese: responsável (pt) Russian: отве́тственный (ru) (otvétstvennyj) Sicilian: di rispunzabbilità Spanish: de responsabilidad (locution) Swedish: ansvarsfull (sv), med förtroende (sv) Ukrainian: відповіда́льний (vidpovidálʹnyj)

being a primary cause or agent of some event or action

Armenian: պատասխանատու (hy) (patasxanatu) Bengali: দায়ী (bn) (daẏi) Catalan: responsable (ca) Danish: ansvarlig (da) Dutch: verantwoordelijk (nl) Finnish: vastuussa French: responsable (fr) Galician: responsable (gl) m or f, responsábel (gl) m or f German: verantwortlich (de) Hungarian: felelős (hu) Italian: responsabile (it), colpevole (it) Norman: responsabl'ye m or f (Jersey) Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can Portuguese: responsável (pt) Russian: отве́тственный (ru) (otvétstvennyj) Sicilian: curpàbbili, rispunzàbbili Spanish: responsable (es) Swedish: ansvarig (sv) Ukrainian: відповіда́льний (vidpovidálʹnyj)

able to be trusted

Armenian: պատասխանատու (hy) (patasxanatu) Bulgarian: отговорен (bg) (otgovoren) Catalan: responsable (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 負責任的 / 负责任的 (fù zérèn de) Danish: ansvarsbevidst, pålidelig Dutch: betrouwbaar (nl), degelijk (nl) French: responsable (fr) Galician: responsable (gl) m or f, responsábel (gl) m or f German: zuverlässig (de) Hungarian: felelősségteljes (hu), megbízható (hu), kötelességtudó (hu) Italian: responsabile (it) Māori: tūtika, haepapa Norman: responsabl'ye m or f (Jersey) Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can Portuguese: responsável (pt) Romanian: responsabil (ro) m Sicilian: rispunzàbbili Spanish: responsable (es) Swedish: ansvarsfull (sv), pålitlig (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations. Translations to be checked

Esperanto: (please verify) respondeca Interlingua: (please verify) responsabile Telugu: (please verify) బాధ్యత గల (bādhyata gala)

Noun

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responsible (plural responsibles)

1. (archaic) The individual who bears the responsibility for something.
   • 1899, The Harlequin, volume 1, page 12:Were this not so, long since would we have traced directly home the responsibility for the war on Freedom in the Philippines. Long since, would we have hanged the responsibles as traitors to our country.
2. (theater) An actor taking on the lesser roles in repertory theatre.
   • 1907, The Green Room Book; Or, Who's Who on the Stage, page 9:[…] first appeared on August Bank Holiday, 1901, at Grand Theatre, Llandudno, playing "responsibles" with Edward Compton; […]
   • 1926, Arthur Machen, Dreads and Drolls:'Well, the Cardinal is the heavy part, isn't it?' 'I know.' 'Then,' said I, 'you'd better go'; and one of the Responsibles took it on, and was perfect on the night.

Translations

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Czech: odpovědný (cs) m Galician: responsable (gl) m or f, responsábel (gl) m or f Italian: responsabile (it) m or f Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can Polish: odpowiedzialny (pl) m, odpowiedzialna f Spanish: responsable (es) m or f

References

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• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “responsible”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “responsible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.