responsible

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
15
Words With Friends
19
Letters
11
Pronunciation
/ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/
See all 8 pronunciations
/ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/ · [ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bɫ̩] · /ɹɪˈspɑn.sə.bəl/ · [ɹɪˈspɑn.sə.bɫ̩] · /ɹɪˈspɔn.sə.bəl/ · [ɹɪˈspɔn.sə.bɫ̩] · /ɹəˈspɒn.sə.bəl/ · [ɹəˈspɔ̟n.sə.bɫ̩]

Definition of responsible

9 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. (postpositional)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.”
See all 9 definitions

adj

  1. (postpositional)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. (postpositional)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?”
    “[…]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. Answerable to (a superior).
  4. 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.
    “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.

noun

  1. (archaic)The individual who bears the responsibility for something.
    “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. An actor taking on the lesser roles in repertory theatre.
    “[…] first appeared on August Bank Holiday, 1901, at Grand Theatre, Llandudno, playing "responsibles" with Edward Compton; […]”
    “'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.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

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.

Words you can make from responsible

200+ playable · top: BONSPIELS (13 pts)

Best play bonspiels 13 points

9-letter words

6 words

8-letter words

28 words

7-letter words

81 words

6-letter words

84 words

Find your best play with responsible

See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes responsible, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.