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responsible

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Responsible is defined as making good decisions and caring for others.

(adjective)

An example of responsible is the type of person who you trust to watch your child.

The definition of responsible is being the person thing that caused something to happen.

(adjective)

An example of responsible is the driver who ran a red light in an accident.

See responsible in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

expected or obliged to account (for something, to someone); answerable; accountable
involving accountability, obligation, or duties: a responsible position
that can be charged with being the cause, agent, or source of something: the moisture that is responsible for the rust
able to distinguish between right and wrong and to think and act rationally, and hence accountable for one's behavior
1. readily assuming obligations, duties, etc.; dependable; reliable
2. able to pay debts or meet business obligations

Origin: MFr < L responsus: see response

Related Forms:

responsibleness noun
responsibly adverb

See responsible in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Liable to be required to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust.
Involving personal accountability or ability to act without guidance or superior authority: a responsible position within the firm.
Being a source or cause.
Able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior.
Able to be trusted or depended upon; reliable.
Based on or characterized by good judgment or sound thinking: responsible journalism.
Having the means to pay debts or fulfill obligations.
Required to render account; answerable: The cabinet is responsible to the parliament.

Origin:

Origin: Obsolete French, corresponding to

Origin: , from Latin respōnsus

Origin: , past participle of respondēre, to respond; see respond

Related Forms:

re·sponˈsi·ble·ness noun

re·sponˈsi·bly adverb

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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