- (postpositive; followed by for or to)
responsible or accountable: answerable for someone's safety, answerable to one's boss able to be answered
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
an•swer•a•ble /ˈænsərəbəl/USA pronunciation
adj. responsible:[be + ~ + for]You are answerable for your own actions.
able to be answered:an answerable question.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- [be + ~ + to] accountable (to someone higher in authority):I am answerable only to the chairman.
an•swer•a•ble
(an′sər ə bəl, än′-),USA pronunciation adj.
an′swer•a•bil′i•ty, an′swer•a•ble•ness, n.
an′swer•a•bly, adv.
- liable to be asked to give account;
responsible:He is answerable to a committee for all his decisions. - capable of being answered:a question answerable by mail.
- proportionate;
correlative (usually fol. by to). - corresponding;
suitable (usually fol. by to):The amount is not answerable to my needs.
- answer + -able 1540–50
an′swer•a•bly, adv.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'answerable' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Urim and Thummim
- accountability
- accountable
- amenable
- divine right of kings
- guarantee
- irresponsible
- liable
- responsible
- rogue
- tag
- unaccountable
- unanswerable