ENGLISH
REFERENCE

responsible

adj.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ɹiˈspɑnsəbəɫ// UK //ɹɪspˈɒnsəbəl// re·spon·si·ble Archaic General-service

adj. having the job or duty of taking care of something or someone. You use this when you are the person in charge of making sure a task gets done correctly.

adj. having an obligation to do something, or having control over or care for someone, as part of one's job or role. Often followed by the preposition 'for' to indicate the specific duty or person.


SIMPLE

The stage manager is responsible for the actors' safety.

CONTEXTUAL

As the lead lighting technician, she is responsible for ensuring all the spotlights are correctly positioned before the curtain rises.

COMPLEX

While the director oversees the artistic vision, the producer is ultimately responsible for the financial viability of the entire theatrical production.

Antonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

Typically takes the preposition 'for' when followed by a noun or gerund.

Pitfall

I am responsible of the projectI am responsible for the projectThe adjective 'responsible' collocations with 'for', not 'of'.

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