liable
[ lahy-uh-buhl ]
/ ˈlaɪ ə bəl /
adjective
legally responsible: You are liable for the damage caused by your action.
subject or susceptible: to be liable to heart disease.
likely or apt: He's liable to get angry.
Origin of liable
usage note for liable
Liable is often interchangeable with
likely in constructions with a following infinitive where the sense is that of probability:
The Sox are liable (or
likely )
to sweep the Series. Some usage guides, however, say that
liable can be used only in contexts in which the outcome is undesirable:
The picnic is liable to be spoiled by rain. This use occurs often in formal writing but not to the exclusion of use in contexts in which the outcome is desirable:
The drop in unemployment is liable to stimulate the economy.
Apt may also be used in place of
liable or
likely in all the foregoing examples. See also
apt,
likely.
OTHER WORDS FROM liable
non·li·a·ble, adjective pre·li·a·ble, adjective un·li·a·ble, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH liable
defamation liable libel slander (see usage note at the current entry) liable libelWords nearby liable
British Dictionary definitions for unliable
liable
/ (ˈlaɪəbəl) /
adjective (postpositive)
legally obliged or responsible; answerable
susceptible or exposed; subject
probable, likely, or capable
it's liable to happen soon
Derived forms of liable
liableness, nounWord Origin for liable
C15: perhaps via Anglo-French, from Old French
lier to bind, from Latin
ligāre
usage for liable
The use of
liable to to mean
likely to was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable