re ‧ spon ‧ si ‧ ble S2 W2 /rɪˈspɒnsəb ə l, rɪˈspɒnsɪb ə l $ rɪˈspɑːn-/ BrE AmE 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 OPP 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.
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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.