Synonyms: responsible, answerable, liable, accountable, amenable
These adjectives share the meaning obliged to answer, as for ones actions, to an authority that may impose a penalty for failure. Responsible often implies the satisfactory performance of duties or the trustworthy care for or disposition of possessions: I am responsible for the ships safety (Robert Louis Stevenson).
Answerable suggests a moral or legal responsibility subject to review by a higher authority: The court held the parents answerable for their minor childs acts of vandalism.
Liable may refer to a legal obligation, as to pay damages or to perform jury duty: Wage earners are liable to income tax.
Accountable especially emphasizes giving an account of ones discharge of a responsibility: The liberal philosophy holds that enduring governments must be accountable to someone beside themselves (Walter Lippmann).
Amenable implies being subject to the control of an authority and therefore the absence of complete autonomy: There is no constitutional tribunal to which [the king] is amenable (Alexander Hamilton). See Also Synonyms at reliable.