legally responsible: You are liable for the damage caused by your action.
2.
subject or susceptible: to be liable to heart disease.
3.
likely or apt: He's liable to get angry.
[Origin: 1535–45; < AF li(er) to bind (< L ligāre) + -able]
—Synonyms 1. obliged, accountable.
—Usage note Liable is often interchangeable with likely in constructions with a following infinitive where the sense is that of probability: The Sox are liable (or likely) to sweep the Series. Some usage guides, however, say that liable can be used only in contexts in which the outcome is undesirable: The picnic is liable to be spoiled by rain. This use occurs often in formal writing but not to the exclusion of use in contexts in which the outcome is desirable: The drop in unemployment is liable to stimulate the economy. Apt may also be used in place of liable or likely in all the foregoing examples. See also apt, likely.
Legally obligated; responsible: liable for military service. See Synonyms at responsible.
At risk of or subject to experiencing or suffering something unpleasant. Used with to:liable to criminal charges; liable to diabetes.
Likely. Often used with reference to an unfavorable outcome: In a depression banks are liable to fail.
[Middle English, probably from Old French lier, to bind, from Latin ligāre; see leig- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Liable, apt, and likely are often used interchangeably in constructions with infinitives, as in Zach is liable to lose, Zach is apt to lose, and Zach is likely to lose, but the three words have subtle distinctions in meaning. A traditional rule holds that liable should be used only if the subject would be adversely affected by the outcome expressed by the infinitive. The rule therefore permits Tim is liable to fall out of his chair if he doesn't sit up straight but not The chair is liable to be slippery, though constructions of the latter type have long been common in reputable writing. · Apt usually suggests that the subject has a natural tendency enhancing the probability of an outcome and that the speaker is somewhat apprehensive about the outcome. Thus apt is more naturally used in a sentence like The fuel pump is apt to give out at any minute than in Even the clearest instructions are apt to be misinterpreted by those idiots (since the instructions are not at fault) or in The fuel pump is apt to give you no problems for the life of the car (since there is no reason that the speaker should regard such an outcome as unfortunate). · Likely is more general than either liable or apt. It ascribes no particular property to the subject that would enhance the probability of the outcome. Thus, while John is apt to lose the election may suggest that the loss will result from something John does or fails to do, John is likely to lose the election does not. Nor does it suggest anything about the desirability of the outcome from the point of view of either the speaker or the subject. See Usage Note at likely.
1542, "bound or obliged by law," from Anglo-Fr. *liable, from O.Fr. lier "to bind," from L. ligare "to bind, to tie" (see ligament). General sense of "exposed to" (something undesirable) is from 1593. Incorrect use for "likely" is attested from 1886. Liability "condition of being liable" is from 1794; meaning "thing for which one is liable" is first attested 1842.
Main Entry: li·a·ble Pronunciation: 'lI-&-b&l Function: adjective Etymology: ultimately from Old French lier to bind, from Latin
ligare 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.
Railroad LaFave and A. W. Scott, Junior> <the estate is liable for succession taxes —Commissioner of Revenue Services v. Estate of Culpepper, 493 Atlantic Reporter, Second
Series 297 (1985)> 2 a: being in a position to incur —used with to <liable to a fire> <property liable to duties> b: subject
or amenable according to law
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. 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.
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. 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.
Lig"a*ture\ (l[i^]g"[.a]*t[-u]r; 135), n. [L. ligatura, fr. ligare, ligatum, to bind: cf. F. ligature. Cf. Ally, League, Legatura, Liable, Ligament.]1. The act of binding. 2. Anything that binds; a band or bandage. 3. (Surg.) (a) A thread or string for tying the blood vessels, particularly the arteries, to prevent hemorrhage. (b) A thread or wire used to remove tumors, etc. 4. The state of being bound or stiffened; stiffness; as, the ligature of a joint. 5. Impotence caused by magic or charms. [Obs.] 6. (Mus.) A curve or line connecting notes; a slur. 7. (Print.) A double character, or a type consisting of two or more letters or characters united, as [ae], [filig], [ffllig].
Sub*ject"\, a. [OE. suget, OF. souzget, sougit (in which the first part is L. subtus below, fr. sub under), subgiet, subject, F. sujet, from L. subjectus lying under, subjected, p. p. of subjicere, subicere, to throw, lay, place, or bring under; sub under + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.]1. Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation. [Obs.] --Spenser. 2. Placed under the power of another; specifically (International Law), owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state; as, Jamaica is subject to Great Britain. Esau was never subject to Jacob. --Locke. 3. Exposed; liable; prone; disposed; as, a country subject to extreme heat; men subject to temptation. All human things are subject to decay. --Dryden. 4. Obedient; submissive. Put them in mind to be subject to principalities. --Titus iii. 1. Syn: Liable; subordinate; inferior; obnoxious; exposed. See Liable.
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