responsible

responsible, liable

形容词 responsible:

1. worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
2. being the agent or cause
   同义词：responsible for
3. having an acceptable credit rating
   同义词：creditworthy

1. Our teacher is a very responsible person.
   我们的老师是一个非常可靠的人。
2. She holds a very responsible position in the firm.
   她在公司里身居要职。
3. Who's responsible for the terrible mess?
   谁应该对这种混乱负责？

re.spon.si.ble

adj.（形容词）
Liable to be required to give account, as of one`s actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust.
负责的，有责任的：易于被要求作出陈述的，如要求对自己的行为或责任或职责的履行
Involving personal accountability or ability to act without guidance or superior authority:
责任重大的：有关个人负有的责任或无需指导或上级监督的行动的能力的：
例句：
a responsible position within the company.
公司中的重要职位

Being a source or cause.
作为根源或原因的
Able to make moral or rational decisions on one`s own and therefore answerable for one`s behavior.
有责任感的，对自己负责的：能够全靠自己做出道德或理性的决定并因而能对其行为负责的
Able to be trusted or depended upon; reliable.
可信赖的：能被信任或依赖的；可靠的
Based on or characterized by good judgment or sound thinking:
合理的，能明辨是非的：基于或以良好的判断或合理的思考为特征的：
例句：
responsible journalism.
明辨是非的新闻界

Having the means to pay debts or fulfill obligations.
有能力履行的，有偿债能力的：具有还债或履行义务的手段的
Required to render account; answerable:
有责任答复的：需要作出交代的；应负责的：
例句：
The cabinet is responsible to the parliament.
内阁对国会有应答义务

来源：
Obsolete French [corresponding to]
已废法语 [与…一致的]
from Latin respônsus [past participle of] respondôre [to respond] * see respond
源自 拉丁语 respônsus [] respondôre的过去分词 [反应] *参见 respond

【引伸】
respon.sibleness
n.（名词）
respon.sibly
adv.（副词）
<参考词汇><同义词>responsible,answerable,liable,accountable,amenableThese adjectives share the meaning obliged to answer, as for one`s actions, to an authority that may impose a penalty for failure.
这些形容词的共有意思是有义务对可能惩罚失误的当权者作出答复的，如对自己的行为。
Responsible often implies the satisfactory performance of duties, the adequate discharge of obligations, or the trustworthy care for or disposition of possessions:
Responsible 常意指满意地履行义务、充分地行使职责或对其所有物可靠的照料或处置：
例句：
.I am responsible for the ship`s safety. (Robert Louis Stevenson).
.我对轮船的安全负责. （罗伯特·路易斯·史蒂芬森）。

例句：
.The people had given him his command, and to the people alone he was responsible. (J.A. Froude).
.人民已给了他管理的权利，所以他对人民负责. (J.A.弗劳德）。

Answerable suggests a moral or legal responsibility subject to review by a higher authority:
Answerable 指接受高一级权威评判的道德或法律的责任：
例句：
The court held the parents answerable for their minor child`s acts of vandalism.
法庭要求父母对于其未成年孩子恶意破坏文物的行为负责。

Liable may refer to a legal obligation, as to pay damages, or to a responsibility to do something,as to perform jury duty, if called on:
Liable 可指如赔偿损坏物等法律义务或指做某事的责任，如受召履行陪审员职责：
例句：
Wage earners are liable to income tax.
劳动者应交纳所得税。

例句：
During the war men between the ages of 8 and 35 were liable for military conscription.
在战争期间十八至三十五岁的男人都应服兵役。

Accountable especially emphasizes the requirement to give an account of one`s discharge of a responsibility entrusted to one:
Accountable 尤强调对委托给某人的职责的执行情况作出交代：
例句：
.The liberal philosophy holds that enduring governments must be accountable to someone beside themselves;that a government responsible only to its own conscience is not for long tolerable. (Walter Lippmann).
.自由派哲学认为长久的政府必须对除自己以外的他人负责；一个仅对自己良心负责的政府是不能持久的. （沃尔特·李普曼）。

Amenable implies the condition of being subject to the control of an authority and therefore the absence of complete autonomy:
Amenable 指受当权者的控制，因而缺乏完全的自主权的状况：
例句：
.The sovereign of this country is not amenable to any form of trial. (Letters of Junius).See also Synonyms at reliable
.这个国家的主权不受任何形式审判的支配. （朱尼厄斯的信）参见同义词 reliable

Some critics have maintained thatresponsible should not be used to describe things, since only persons can be held accountable.The application to things is justifiable, however, whenresponsible is used to mean .being the source or cause of.. In an earlier survey,a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the sentence
一些批评家坚持认为responsible 不应用于描述事物， 因为只有人才能负担责任。但是当responsible 被用来表示.归因于….的意思时，用它叙述事物是合理的。 在更早期的调查中，用法专题小组中的大部分成员都接受句子
例句：
Faulty construction was responsible for the crash. ·
建筑的倒塌应归因于低劣的施工。

In recent years,many people have objected to the use of the phraseclaim responsibility with reference to the authors of terrorist acts, as inA small separatist group claimed responsibility for the explosion, in which 30 passengers were killed. It is true that the phrase is not entirely felicitous,in as much as it does not convey the speaker`s conviction that the action is deplorable.But alternatives such asadmit or take the blame cannot be recommended either, since they would imply misleadingly that the instigators had themselves acknowledged that the action was wrongful.
近年来，许多人反对使用与恐怖主义活动制造者相关的词组claim responsibility ， 如一小撮分离主义者声称对那次致使30位旅客丧生的爆炸负责 。 这个词组确实是不得体的，因为它没有表达说话者对悲惨行为的谴责。但也不能推荐如admit 和 take the blame 等替代词， 因为它们可能使人误导以为煽动者自己也承认行动是错误的