answerable C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈænsərəbəl/ UK /ˈɑːnsərəbəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj responsible or accountable for something to someone As manager, she was answerable to the board for every decision. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · responsible or accountable... accountableresponsibleliableamenable ↔ Opposites unaccountableirresponsible Word family Derived forms answerabilityanswerably Related forms answer Etymology AI details From answer + -able. Answer derives from Old English andswaru ('a reply'), from and- ('against') + -swaru ('affirmation', related to swear). andswaru Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # answerable **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈænsərəbəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɑːnsərəbəl/ ## Meanings 1. responsible or accountable for something to someone ## Examples - As manager, she was answerable to the board for every decision. ## Synonyms - accountable - responsible - liable - amenable ## Antonyms - unaccountable - irresponsible ## Derived Forms - answerability - answerably ## Related Forms - answer ## Roots and Affixes - Root: andswaru ## Etymology From answer + -able. Answer derives from Old English andswaru ('a reply'), from and- ('against') + -swaru ('affirmation', related to swear). ## AI Etymology answerable comes from answer + -able. Answer derives from Old English andswaru ('a reply'), from and- ('against') + -swaru ('affirmation', related to swear). Morphologically, the word is transparent: -able and -swaru is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the adjective sense is "responsible or accountable for something to someone", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as answer and derivatives such as answerability, answerably, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Old English andswaru, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown