responsibility

Tweet

noun

Definition of RESPONSIBILITY

1

the state of being held as the cause of something that needs to be set right <responsibility for the accident lies with the driver who was speeding>

Synonyms blame, fault, liability

Related Words accountability, answerability

2

something one must do because of prior agreement <I had the responsibility of closing up the shop at night>

Synonyms burden, charge, commitment, devoir, do [archaic], duty, imperative, incumbency, need, office, responsibility

Related Words oath, pledge, promise, troth, vow, word; arrangement, prearrangement, setup; compact, contract, covenant, pact, trust; debt, payment, tribute; compulsion, constraint, restraint; must, requirement; coercion, duress, force; appointment, engagement, reservation; burden, onus

Near Antonyms grace, postponement, stay; discharge, ease, exemption, release, relief, waiver; loophole; alternative, choice, option, pick, preference, selection

3

worthiness as the recipient of another's trust or confidence <the newspaper publisher should hire kids of greater responsibility to deliver its papers>

Synonyms dependability, dependableness, reliableness, responsibility, solidity, solidness, sureness, trustability, trustworthiness

Related Words inerrancy, infallibility; credibility, creditability, creditableness

Near Antonyms doubtfulness, dubiousness, questionableness, shakiness, uncertainness

Antonyms dodginess [chiefly British], unreliability