liable

adjective

li·​a·​ble ˈlī-ə-bəl How to pronounce liable (audio)
especially in sense 2 often
ˈlī-bəl How to pronounce liable (audio)
Synonyms of liablenext
1
a
: obligated according to law or equity (see equity sense 3) : responsible
Both owners are liable for the debts incurred by the business.
b
: subject to appropriation or attachment
All his property is liable to pay his debts.
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.
Liable vs. Apt: Usage Guide

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.

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for liable

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

synonyms see in addition responsible

Examples of liable in a Sentence

If someone gets hurt on your property, you could be liable. because of his frail constitution, he's liable to diseases
Recent Examples on the Web And the polluters have a direct financial interest in not being connected with it, since they could be held liable and forced to pay for cleanup. —Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2023 And a push to hold corporations jointly liable for franchisees’ labor violations won’t proceed. —Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2023 Funny thing: The Rangers are liable to be holding their figurative breath during the imaging, too. —Evan Grant, Dallas News, 13 Sep. 2023 Supervising physicians can be held personally liable only when the supervisor is personally involved in an informed consent violation or when the supervisor's corrective inaction constitutes deliberate indifference towards the violation, the filing states. —Ron Wood, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2023 Trump has decide all wrongdoing. MORE: Judge sets January 2024 trial date for E. Jean Carroll's original defamation case against Trump The judge in the case has ruled the trial is only about money, since a jury established in a related case that Trump was liable for defaming and battering Carroll. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2023 Read full article The new calculation is part of James’s request that a New York state judge hold Trump liable for fraud even before her $250 million suit against him, his two eldest sons and his company goes to trial on Oct. 2. —Erik Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023 Walmart wouldn’t be liable, and suing a foreign company would likely be fruitless. —Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023 There are also restrictions on sourcing training data; developers are legally liable if their training data infringes on someone else’s intellectual property. —Mikhail Klimentov, Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English lyable, from Anglo-French *liable, from lier to bind, from Latin ligare — more at ligature

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of liable was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near liable

liability limit

liable

liableness

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Liable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liable. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.

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Kids Definition

liable

adjective
li·​a·​ble ˈlī-ə-bəl How to pronounce liable (audio)
 especially in senses 2 & 3 often  ˈlī-bəl
1
: forced by law or by what is right to make good
we are liable for damage that we do
2
: not sheltered or protected (as from danger or accident)
liable to diseases
3
: exposed to or likely to experience something that usually is undesirable
you're liable to slip there
it's liable to rain before we're done

Legal Definition

liable

adjective
li·​a·​ble ˈlī-ə-bəl How to pronounce liable (audio)
1
: answerable according to law : bound or obligated according to law or equity
one is liable as an accomplice to the crime of another—W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr.
the estate is liable for succession taxes—Commissioner of Revenue Services v. Estate of Culpepper, 493 A.2d 297 (1985)
2
a
: being in a position to incur
—used with to
liable to a fine
property liable to duties
b
: subject or amenable according to law
Etymology

ultimately from Old French lier to bind, from Latin ligare

More from Merriam-Webster on liable

Nglish: Translation of liable for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of liable for Arabic Speakers

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