accountable

English

Etymology

• First attested around 1400.
• account +‎ -able

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈkaʊntəbl̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

accountable (comparative more accountable, superlative most accountable)

1. Obliged, when called upon, to answer (for one’s deeds); answerable.

   Every man is accountable to God for his conduct.

   You will be held accountable for your misdemeanors.

   • 2020 April 22, Philip Haigh, “Labour's blueprint for the future of Britain's railways”, in Rail, page 28:

     "Because the railway is economically and socially vital, it receives large amounts of public money and must therefore ultimately be accountable to government. [...]

2. Obliged to keep accurate records (of property or funds).
3. Liable to be called on to render an account.
4. (rare) Capable of being accounted for; explicable; explainable.
   • 1703, Benjamin Whichcote, Moral and Religious Aphorisms:

     True religion . . . intelligible, rational, and accountable, -- not a burden but a privilege.

Synonyms

• amenable, responsible, liable, answerable

Derived terms

• accountability
• accountable depot
• accountable disbursing officer
• accountable mail
• accountableness
• accountable officer
• accountably
• nonaccountable
• unaccountable

 

Translations

obliged to answer for one’s deeds

• Afrikaans: verantwoordelik, aanspreeklik
• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: مُحَاسَب (muḥāsab), مَسْؤُول (ar) (masʔūl)
• Armenian: հաշվետու (hy) (hašvetu), պատասխանատու (hy) (patasxanatu), հաշվետվողական (hašvetvoġakan)
• Bashkir: яуаплы (yawaplı)
• Bulgarian: отговорен (bg) (otgovoren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有責任的／有责任的, 有解說義務的／有解说义务的

• Danish: ansvarlig (da)
• Dutch: verantwoordelijk (nl), aansprakelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: vastutav
• Finnish: vastuullinen (fi), vastuunalainen
• French: responsable (fr) m or f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: verantwortlich (de)
• Greek: αρμόδιος (el) (armódios)

  Ancient: please add this translation if you can

• Hungarian: felelős (hu), felelősségre vonható (hu)
• Italian: responsabile (it)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: отчетен (otčeten)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

  Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can

• Persian: پاسخگو (fa) (pâsox-gu)
• Polish: odpowiedzialny (pl)
• Portuguese: responsável (pt)
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: отве́тственный (ru) (otvétstvennyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: о̏дгово̄ран

  Roman: ȍdgovōran (sh)

• Slovak: zúčtovateľný
• Spanish: responsable (es)
• Swedish: ansvarig (sv)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
• West Frisian: ferantwurdlik

obliged to keep accurate records

• Bashkir: яуаплы (yawaplı)
• Russian: подотчётный (ru) (podotčótnyj)

liable to be called on to render an account

• Bashkir: яуаплы (yawaplı)
• Bulgarian: подотчетен (podotčeten)
• Finnish: vastuullinen (fi), vastuunalainen
• French: responsable (fr) m or f
• Greek: υπόλογος (el) (ypólogos)
• Hungarian: elszámoltatható
• Russian: подотчётный (ru) (podotčótnyj)

capable of being accounted for; explicable

• Dutch: verklaarbaar (nl)
• French: expliquable m or f
• Greek: ευεξήγητος (el) (evexígitos)
• Icelandic: skýranlegur m
• Russian: объясни́мый (ru) (obʺjasnímyj)
• West Frisian: ferklearber

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Catalan: ^{(please verify)} responsable (ca)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} responsabile

See also

• hold to account

References

• “accountable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “accountable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.