 3 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
liable
adjective
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 The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Liable \Li"a*ble\ (l[imac]"[.a]*b'l), adjective [From F. lier to bind,
L. ligare. Cf. {Ally}, verb (used with an object), {Ligature}.]
1. Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible;
answerable; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his
principal.
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.
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.
Proudly secure, yet liable to fall. --Milton.
All human things are subject to decay. --Dryden.
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
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