Liable

3 definitions found

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

  Liable \Li"a*ble\ (l[imac]"[.a]*b'l), a. [From F. lier to bind,
     L. ligare. Cf. {Ally}, v. t., {Ligature}.]
     1. Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible;
        answerable; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his
        principal.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. Exposed to a certain contingency or casualty, more or less
        probable; -- with to and an infinitive or noun; as, liable
        to slip; liable to accident.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Accountable; responsible; answerable; bound; subject;
          obnoxious; exposed.
  
     Usage: {Liable}, {Subject}. Liable refers to a future
            possible or probable happening which may not actually
            occur; as, horses are liable to slip; even the
            sagacious are liable to make mistakes. Subject refers
            to any actual state or condition belonging to the
            nature or circumstances of the person or thing spoken
            of, or to that which often befalls one. One whose
            father was subject to attacks of the gout is himself
            liable to have that disease. Men are constantly
            subject to the law, but liable to suffer by its
            infraction.
            [1913 Webster]
  
                  Proudly secure, yet liable to fall. --Milton.
            [1913 Webster]
  
                  All human things are subject to decay. --Dryden.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  liable
       adj 1: at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually
              unpleasant; "he is apt to lose"; "she is liable to
              forget" [syn: {apt(p)}, {liable(p)}]
       2: subject to legal action; "liable to criminal charges" [syn:
          {liable(p)}]
       3: (often followed by `to') likely to be affected with; "liable
          to diabetes" [syn: {liable(p)}, {nonimmune}, {nonresistant},
           {unresistant}]
       4: held legally responsible; "men between the ages of 18 and 35
          were liable for military service"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  48 Moby Thesaurus words for "liable":
     accountable, actionable, amenable, answerable, answerable for, apt,
     assailable, attackable, beatable, blameworthy, bound, chargeable,
     conquerable, disposed, exposed, fair, foreseeable, given, hopeful,
     in the cards, inclined, likely, naked, nonimmune, obligated,
     obnoxious, odds-on, open, penetrable, pledged, predictable,
     predictable within limits, presumable, presumptive, probable,
     promising, prone, responsible, responsible for, sensitive,
     statistically probable, subject, susceptible, tied, to blame,
     verisimilar, vincible, vulnerable