answerable

adjective

ˈan(t)-s(ə-)rə-bəl How to pronounce answerable (audio)
Definition of answerablenext
1
as in responsible
being the one who must meet an obligation or suffer the consequences for failing to do so you are answerable for your own conduct at all times

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in resolvable
capable of having the reason for or cause of determined they say this equation is not answerable

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How does the adjective answerable contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of answerable are accountable, amenable, liable, and responsible. While all these words mean "subject to being held to account," answerable suggests a relation between one having a moral or legal obligation and a court or other authority charged with oversight of its observance.

an intelligence agency answerable to Congress

Where would accountable be a reasonable alternative to answerable?

The synonyms accountable and answerable are sometimes interchangeable, but accountable suggests imminence of retribution for unfulfilled trust or violated obligation.

elected officials are accountable to the voters

How do amenable and liable relate to one another, in the sense of answerable?

Both amenable and liable stress the fact of subjection to review, censure, or control by a designated authority under certain conditions.

laws are amenable to judicial review
not liable for the debts of the former spouse

When can responsible be used instead of answerable?

The meanings of responsible and answerable largely overlap; however, responsible implies holding a specific office, duty, or trust.

the bureau responsible for revenue collection

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of answerable These special prosecutors could investigate and charge high-ranking executive officials but were not answerable to the president. —Anastasia Boden, National Review, 4 July 2025 OpenAI is currently completely controlled by its nonprofit board, which is purely answerable to the company’s founding mission: ensuring that AI benefits all of humanity. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 20 June 2025 Issue The View from Here Will Trump use an obscure legal loophole to turn the National Guard into an anti-immigrant army answerable only to him? —Air Mail, 14 June 2025 Like every member of the General Assembly, Stewart essentially is an independent contractor answerable to the voters, not an employee who can be fired or have their pay docked by the House leadership. —Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for answerable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for answerable
  1. responsible
  2. liable
  3. feasible
  4. explainable
  5. soluble
  6. explicable
  7. solvable
Adjective
  • Fight back against the bulls--- framing that tries to make Dems responsible for everything.
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Violence is violence, and there is one person responsible for what happened, and that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable.
    — Adisa Hargett-Robinson, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Definition of responsible
Adjective
  • If that claim were to be accepted in a court, those firms could be liable for the costs of those heat waves.
    — Justin Worland, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Those warnings would explain that consumers can attempt to hold companies civilly or criminally liable for any loss or damages, the bill said, while warning that the product could be discontinued at any time.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
Definition of liable
Adjective
  • Thanks to many hair- and scalp-care innovations, the best ingredients for hair growth products are a feasible means to achieving thicker, longer tresses right at home.
    — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Crucially, blockchain infrastructure has matured to the point where attribution and compensation mechanisms, once theoretical, are now technically feasible.
    — Roomy Khan, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Definition of feasible
Adjective
  • This motivates our proposal of a modular explainable AI agent (XAI agent) that's powered by banking domain-specific LLMs rather than general-purpose models.
    — Ravi Gedela, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Key trends include advancements in LLMs powering sophisticated chatbots, the rise of autonomous AI for workflow automation, and the democratization of AI through no-code/low-code platforms, all underpinned by critical ethical and explainable AI frameworks.
    — Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of explainable
Adjective
  • Because curcumin is fat-soluble, it's best taken with a meal that contains healthy fats to improve how well your body absorbs it.
    — Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 8 Sep. 2025
  • While more research needs to be conducted, a promising clinical study found that participants who took a specific soluble keratin supplement for three months strengthened and improved the appearance of their nails.
    — Brianna Peters, Vogue, 6 Sep. 2025
Definition of soluble
Adjective
  • Jason Ritter plays Julian’s scenes in this episode with raw emotion, making the character’s choices more explicable, if not entirely forgivable.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
  • An extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws, and is therefore attributed to a divine agency?
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Definition of explicable
Adjective
  • Think of financial conflict as solvable rather than perpetual.
    — Mary Clements Evans, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Analysts are mixed as to whether Target’s issues are easily solvable or if drastic changes are necessary to revive to the business.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025
Definition of solvable

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answerability
answerable
answered
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Cite this Entry

“Answerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/answerable. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

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