responsible

(rĭ-spŏnˈsə-bəl)

adjective

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

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.