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liable

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liable

  • /ˈlaɪ̯əbəl/
  • [ˈlaɪ̯əbɫ̩]
  • [ˈlaɪ̯əbəɫ]

Rhymes with -aɪəbəl

Where it comes from

From Old French lier (“to bind”), from Latin ligō, ligāre (“to bind, to tie”).

Compare typologically Russian обя́занный (objázannyj), обяза́тельный (objazátelʹnyj) (akin to вяза́ть (vjazátʹ)).

adjective more liable · most liable

  1. Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable. The surety is liable for the debt of his principal.
  2. Subject; susceptible; prone. This crime is liable to imprisonment for life.
  3. Exposed to a certain contingency or causality, more or less probable. Electronic devices are liable to malfunction when exposed to extreme heat.
  4. predicative, with to infinitive Likely. Someone is liable to slip on your icy sidewalk.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: responsible, apt, likely, susceptible, unresistant, nonresistant, nonimmune, nonexempt, responsibility, accountable, accountability, answerable, committed, obliged, obligated, beholden

Translations

Every language

adj legally responsible

Españolresponsabilizado, responsabilizable
हिन्दीउत्तरदायी uttardāyī
Portuguêsresponsável
Françaisresponsable
Deutschhaftend, haftpflichtig
Italianoresponsabile
Românărăspunzător, responsabil
Русскийобя́занный objázannyj, отве́тственный otvétstvennyj

adj subject; susceptible

Españolpropenso, tendente, tendiente, proclive
Françaissujet, susceptible
Italianopunibile, passibile, soggetto

adj exposed to a certain contingency

Portuguêspassível
Deutschneigend, unterworfen
Românăpasibil
Русскийподверженный podveržennyj, скло́нный sklónnyj, уязвимый ujazvimyj

adj likely

Italianoverb conditional form

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Cite this
MLA

"liable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/liable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

liable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/liable

Chicago

"liable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/liable.

BibTeX
@misc{liable_2026,
  title = {liable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/liable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}