responsible
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- in charge, in authority, in control
- to blame, at fault, culpable, guilty
- accountable, answerable, liable
- sensible, dependable, level-headed, rational, reliable, trustworthy

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Antonyms: irresponsible
Contrasted words: clear, exempt, immune, irresponsible, unaccountable, unanswerable, unliable
Related Words: exposed, open, subject

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English Thesaurus: guilty, responsible, be to blame, culpable, negligent, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

re‧spon‧si‧ble S2 W2 /rɪˈspɒnsəbəl, rɪˈspɒnsɪbəl $ rɪˈspɑːn-/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: responsibility ≠ irresponsibility; adverb: responsibly ≠ irresponsibly; adjective: responsible ≠ irresponsible]

1. GUILTY [not before noun] if someone is responsible for an accident, mistake, crime etc, it is their fault or they can be blamed
responsible for
Police believe that the same man is responsible for three other murders in the area.
We are determined to bring the people responsible to justice.
hold somebody responsible (for something)
If anything goes wrong, I will hold you personally responsible.

2. IN CHARGE OF [not before noun] having a duty to be in charge of or to look after someone or something
responsible for
Mills is responsible for a budget of over $5 million.
The airline is legally responsible for the safety of its passengers.
responsible for doing something
He is responsible for recruiting and training new staff.

3. SENSIBLE sensible and able to make good judgments, so that you can be trusted Antonym : irresponsible ⇒ reliable:
You can leave the children with Billy – he’s very responsible.
responsible adult/citizen
It’s time you started acting like a responsible adult.

4. CAUSE [not before noun] if something is responsible for a change, problem, event etc, it causes it
responsible for
The floods were responsible for over a hundred deaths.

5. responsible job/position a job in which the ability to make good judgments and decisions is needed

6. be responsible to somebody if you are responsible to someone, that person is in charge of your work and you must explain what you have done to them:
Cabinet members are directly responsible to the President.


GRAMMAR
Responsible is always an adjective, never a noun.
Responsible is followed by for, not 'of':
Who is responsible for this mess?
Our department is responsible for marketing.
The person/company etc responsible is the person etc who has done something wrong:
Police are determined to catch the man responsible (NOT the responsible/the responsible man).
A responsible person, or someone who is responsible, is sensible:
He’s a very responsible young man.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

responsible
adj.
I. having the job/duty of doing sth
VERBS be | become | remain | make sb I am making you responsible for the cooking.
ADV. entirely, totally, wholly | chiefly, largely, mainly, primarily | individually | collectively, jointly All members of the Cabinet are collectively responsible for decisions taken.
formally, legally | nominally The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training.
ultimately The board is ultimately responsible for policy decisions.
financially
PREP. for They're responsible for cleaning the engine.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

responsible
II. being the cause of sth/to blame for sth
VERBS be, feel | become | consider sb, deem sb, find sb, hold sb, regard sb as, see sb as, think sb They held him responsible for the failure of the policy.
ADV. entirely, fully, wholly | partially, partly | directly | indirectly | personally | single-handedly, solely He was almost single-handedly responsible for the flourishing drug trade in the town.
ultimately | somehow Did he think her somehow responsible for Eddie's death?
morally
PREP. for Who was responsible for the mistake?

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

responsible
III. having to report to sb/sth
VERBS be
ADV. directly | ultimately a complex web of party bodies ultimately responsible to the Central Committee
PREP. to The prime minister is directly responsible to Parliament.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

responsible
IV. showing/needing good sense and reliability
VERBS be, seem | become
ADV. extremely, highly, very | fairly, quite | ecologically, environmentally The organization needs to become more environmentally responsible.
morally, politically, socially allocating resources in a morally responsible way

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

responsible
adjective
BAD: Drugs are responsible of a large number of deaths.
GOOD: Drugs are responsible for a large number of deaths.
BAD: I'm also responsible to decide on the best way to manufacture a product.
GOOD: I'm also responsible for deciding on the best way to manufacture a product.

Usage Note:
responsible for (doing) sth : 'Who's responsible for roof repairs - you or the landlord?' 'The person responsible for leaking the story to the press has been forced to resign.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

guilty if someone is guilty of a crime or doing something wrong, they did it, and they should be punished for it:
She was found guilty of murder.
He was guilty of serious misconduct.
The two guilty men were ordered to pay damages to their victims.
responsible [not before noun] used when saying who should be blamed for something bad that has happened:
Police believe a local gang is responsible for the burglaries.
As manager, he is ultimately responsible for the failure of the project.
The other driver was responsible for the accident.
be to blame if someone is to blame for a bad situation, they are responsible:
The government is partly to blame for the crisis.
If anything goes wrong, it’s never him that is to blame.
culpable /ˈkʌlpəbəl/ formal responsible for something bad or illegal, so that you deserve to be blamed or punished:
The people who helped the terrorists are equally culpable for what happened on July 7th.
He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide (=being guilty of causing someone’s death).
negligent /ˈneɡlɪdʒənt/ [not usually before noun] responsible for something bad that has happened, because you did not take enough care, or you did not try to stop it from happening:
The court decided that the railway company was negligent.
be in the wrong to be responsible for an accident, mistake etc – used when deciding which person, group etc should be blamed:
The other driver was clearly in the wrong.
She always thinks it’s me who is in the wrong.
incriminating used about things which seem to show that someone is guilty of a crime:
incriminating evidence
incriminating documents
He didn’t want to say anything incriminating.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

trustworthy especially written if someone is trustworthy, you can trust them because they are honest:
Many people do not see politicians as trustworthy.
reliable someone who is reliable can be trusted to do what they say they will do and not make any mistakes:
a reliable employee
We need someone who is 100% reliable.
responsible someone who is responsible can be trusted to behave in a sensible way:
Sam’s a good babysitter – he’s responsible and the kids like him.
a responsible adult
dependable someone who is dependable can be trusted to do what you need or expect:
Britain is our most dependable ally.
steady someone who is steady is sensible and you can depend on them:
He’s only sixteen, but he’s steady and reliable.
loyal someone who is loyal can be trusted to always give help or support to their friends, their country, their political party etc:
She is fiercely loyal to her family.
He is one of the party’s most loyal supporters.
faithful someone who is faithful stays loyal to a person, belief, political party etc, and continues to support them, even in difficult situations:
Daniel had been a faithful friend.
a faithful member of the Communist Party
can rely/depend on somebody if you can rely or depend on someone, you can be sure that they will do what you want or need them to do:
Don’t worry about a thing – you can depend on me.
Patients rely on doctors to help them make the right decisions about their health care.
reliable/dependable able to be trusted to do what you want, or to be accurate:
The Boeing is a very reliable plane.
a dependable supply of oil
reliable economic forecasts
How can we be sure that his evidence is reliable?
can rely/depend on something if you can rely or depend on something, you can be sure that they will do what you want or need them to do:
I need a car that I can rely on in all weathers.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲