accountable

accountable — adjective

1. having a duty to take responsibility for your actions or decisions, and to give

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

having a duty to take responsibility for your actions or decisions, and to give a clear reason for them when someone in authority asks — for example, a teacher who must justify a grade, or a minister who must explain a policy choice.

Example

School principals are accountable to parents for the safety of every child on campus.

accountable to [person] for [thing]

Voters want politicians to be held accountable for the promises they make during elections.

passive: be held accountable for [thing]

Common collocations
  • directly accountable
  • fully accountable
  • publicly accountable
  • hold someone accountable
  • accountable to shareholders
  • accountable for the decision
Synonyms
  • responsible

    broader and more everyday; 'responsible' covers both having a duty and being the cause, while 'accountable' stresses the duty to explain.

  • answerable

    near-synonym, slightly less formal; common in 'answerable to a boss' but rarer in legal or political writing.

  • liable

    stresses legal or financial obligation to pay or be punished, not the duty to give reasons.

Antonyms
  • unaccountable

    directly opposite — not required to explain or justify actions.

Grammar Patterns

accountable to someone

accountable for something

hold someone accountable

Usage Note

Almost always used in a context of authority or oversight — the person or body you answer to is named or implied. Frequently appears in the passive structure 'be held accountable' and in collocations with 'directly', 'fully', 'publicly'. Rarely used before a noun (predicative more than attributive).

Common Mistakes

He is accountable about the mistake.
He is accountable for the mistake.
use 'for' before the thing you must answer for, not 'about'.
The manager is accountable with the shareholders.
The manager is accountable to the shareholders.
use 'to' before the person or body you must answer to.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe being on the hook for something, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Responsible' is the everyday word and covers two ideas at once: being the cause of something and having a duty to deal with it. 'Accountable' is narrower and more formal — it stresses the duty to explain or justify your actions to someone in authority, often in politics, business, or institutions. 'Answerable' is close to 'accountable' but feels less weighty and is common in everyday workplace talk, such as 'answerable to my manager'. 'Liable' shifts the focus to legal or financial consequences — being open to a lawsuit, fine, or payment. Compare: 'The driver was responsible for the accident' (caused it), 'liable for the damage' (must pay), and 'accountable to the safety board' (must explain the choices made).

accountable ↗responsible ↗answerableliable ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • hold someone accountable
  • be held accountable
  • accountable to the public
  • accountable for one's actions

Prepositions

  • to (a person or body)
  • for (an action or outcome)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in late Middle English from the verb 'account' (to give a reckoning, from Old French 'aconter' — to count or reckon up) plus the suffix '-able' (capable of, fit for). The earliest sense was simply 'liable to be called to give an account of money or actions'. By the 1500s the word had broadened from financial reckoning to moral and political answerability, the meaning that dominates today.