accountable
- 1Having to explain or take the blame for what you do.
Like a captain who must answer for everything that happens on the ship.
A good leader is accountable for every choice the team makes.
If you break the rules, you are accountable for what happens next.
Similaranswerable, responsible, liable
Oppositeunaccountable
Note
- 2Able to be called on to explain what you have done.
Every cashier is accountable, so the manager can ask them to explain the till.
Public officials are accountable and can be summoned to justify their spending.
Similaranswerable, liable, responsible
- 3Having to keep correct records of money or property in your care.
The treasurer is accountable for keeping a clear record of the club's money.
Each warehouse clerk is accountable for the goods listed in the logbook.
Similarresponsible, answerable, liable
Less common meaning
- 4Possible to explain or give a reason for.
Like a mystery that suddenly makes sense once you find the missing clue.
The strange noise turned out to be accountable: a loose pipe in the wall.
True religion . . . intelligible, rational, and accountable, -- not a burden but a privilege.
1703, Benjamin Whichcote, Moral and Religious AphorismsHere, accountable means possible to explain or give a reason for.Similarexplicable, explainable, understandable
Oppositeinexplicable, unaccountable, unexplainable
Note
Practice
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Origin
First used around 1400. It comes from "account" plus "-able".