Answerable

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Answerable \An"swer*a*ble\, a.
     1. Obliged to answer; liable to be called to account; liable
        to pay, indemnify, or make good; accountable; amenable;
        responsible; as, an agent is answerable to his principal;
        to be answerable for a debt, or for damages.
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              Will any man argue that . . . he can not be justly
              punished, but is answerable only to God? --Swift.
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     2. Capable of being answered or refuted; admitting a
        satisfactory answer.
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              The argument, though subtle, is yet answerable.
                                                    --Johnson.
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     3. Correspondent; conformable; hence, comparable.
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              What wit and policy of man is answerable to their
              discreet and orderly course?          --Holland.
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              This revelation . . . was answerable to that of the
              apostle to the Thessalonians.         --Milton.
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     4. Proportionate; commensurate; suitable; as, an achievement
        answerable to the preparation for it.
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     5. Equal; equivalent; adequate. [Archaic]
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              Had the valor of his soldiers been answerable, he
              had reached that year, as was thought, the utmost
              bounds of Britain.                    --Milton.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  answerable
       adj 1: possible to answer
       2: morally or legally  responsible to a higher authority;
          "parents are answerable for their child's acts"