Adjacent Words

Liable definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LI'ABLE, a. [L. ligo. See Liege.]
1. Bound; obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable. The surety is liable for the debt of his principal. The parent is not liable for debts contracted by a son who is a minor, except for necessaries.
This use of liable is now common among lawyers. The phrase is abridged. The surety is liable, that is, bound to pay the debt of his principal.
2. Subject; obnoxious; exposed.
Proudly secure, yet liable to fall.
Liable, in this sense, is always applied to evils. We never say, a man is liable to happiness or prosperity, but he is liable to disease, calamities, censure; he is liable to err, to sin, to fall.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant; "he is apt to lose"; "she is liable to forget" [syn: apt, liable]
2: subject to legal action; "liable to criminal charges"
3: (often followed by `to') likely to be affected with; "liable to diabetes" [syn: liable, nonimmune, nonresistant, unresistant]
4: held legally responsible; "men between the ages of 18 and 35 were liable for military service"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English lyable, from Anglo-French *liable, from lier to bind, from Latin ligare — more at ligature Date: 15th century 1. a. obligated according to law or equity ; responsible b. subject to appropriation or attachment 2. a. being in a position to incur — used with to <liable to a fine> b. exposed or subject to some usually adverse contingency or action <watch out or you're liable to fall> Synonyms: liable, open, exposed, subject, prone, susceptible, sensitive mean being by nature or through circumstances likely to experience something adverse. liable implies a possibility or probability of incurring something because of position, nature, or particular situation <liable to get lost>. open stresses a lack of barriers preventing incurrence <a claim open to question>. exposed suggests lack of protection or powers of resistance against something actually present or threatening <exposed to infection>. subject implies an openness for any reason to something that must be suffered or undergone <all reports are subject to review>. prone stresses natural tendency or propensity to incur something <prone to delay>. susceptible implies conditions existing in one's nature or individual constitution that make incurrence probable <very susceptible to flattery>. sensitive implies a readiness to respond to or be influenced by forces or stimuli <unduly sensitive to criticism>. Synonym: see in addition responsible. Usage: Both liable and apt when followed by an infinitive are used nearly interchangeably with likely. Although conflicting advice has been given over the years, most current commentators accept apt when so used. They generally recommend limiting liable to situations having an undesirable outcome, and our evidence shows that in edited writing it is more often so used than not.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

predic.adj. 1 legally bound. 2 (foll. by to) subject to (a tax or penalty). 3 (foll. by to + infin.) under an obligation. 4 (foll. by to) exposed or open to (something undesirable). 5 disp. (foll. by to + infin.) apt, likely (it is liable to rain). 6 (foll. by for) answerable. Etymology: ME perh. f. AF f. OF lier f. L ligare bind

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Liable Li"a*ble (l[imac]"[.a]*b'l), a. [From F. lier to bind, L. ligare. Cf. Ally, v. t., Ligature.] 1. Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his principal. 2. Exposed to a certain contingency or casualty, more or less probable; -- with to and an infinitive or noun; as, liable to slip; liable to accident. Syn: Accountable; responsible; answerable; bound; subject; obnoxious; exposed. Usage: Liable, Subject. Liable refers to a future possible or probable happening which may not actually occur; as, horses are liable to slip; even the sagacious are liable to make mistakes. Subject refers to any actual state or condition belonging to the nature or circumstances of the person or thing spoken of, or to that which often befalls one. One whose father was subject to attacks of the gout is himself liable to have that disease. Men are constantly subject to the law, but liable to suffer by its infraction. Proudly secure, yet liable to fall. --Milton. All human things are subject to decay. --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. When something is liable to happen, it is very likely to happen. Only a small minority of the mentally ill are liable to harm themselves or others. PHRASE 2. If people or things are liable to something unpleasant, they are likely to experience it or do it. She will grow into a woman particularly liable to depression... Steroids are used to reduce the inflammation, which makes the muscles of the airways liable to constriction. = prone ADJ: v-link ADJ to n 3. If you are liable for something such as a debt, you are legally responsible for it. The airline's insurer is liable for damages to the victims' families... As the killings took place outside British jurisdiction, the Ministry of Defence could not be held liable. ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ for n • liability He is claiming damages from London Underground, which has admitted liability but disputes the amount of his claim.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Answerable, responsible, accountable, amenable. 2. Exposed, subject, obnoxious.

Moby Thesaurus

accountable, actionable, amenable, answerable, answerable for, apt, assailable, attackable, beatable, blameworthy, bound, chargeable, conquerable, disposed, exposed, fair, foreseeable, given, hopeful, in the cards, inclined, likely, naked, nonimmune, obligated, obnoxious, odds-on, open, penetrable, pledged, predictable, predictable within limits, presumable, presumptive, probable, promising, prone, responsible, responsible for, sensitive, statistically probable, subject, susceptible, tied, to blame, verisimilar, vincible, vulnerable