Responsible is the adjective that qualifies something or someone who is able to answer for their own actions or for the actions of other people, that is, who takes responsibility.
Being responsible is acting in a way that fulfills all the obligations that are inherent to an individual, such as for example, pay the bills for the month, do your homework, finish all the work assignments and etc.
The opposite of responsible is the irresponsible, a person who does not answer for his actions and does not fulfill his goals. Irresponsibility helps build an unstable and troubled life.
The human being must learn the meaning and importance of responsibility and what it is to be responsible since childhood.
There are several teaching methods that help define the meaning of “being responsible” for children. The iconic children's story “The Little Prince”, for example, created by French writer and illustrator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Many moral lessons are conveyed in this story, such as the importance of responsibility towards friends, for example.
“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed”. This sentence was said in the dialogue between the Fox and the Little Prince, implying that the human relationships, whether friendship or love, should be based on mutual responsibility between people.
In the story, the Little Prince captivated the fox, becoming responsible for her, that is, giving her answers to her wishes and whims.
The word responsible can still have another meaning by extension, used in the sense of identifying the guilty, that is, the individual or thing that caused a certain situation.
Example: "Joao is responsible for the failure of the party" or "Maria was responsible for breaking the window glass".
Etymologically, the word “responsible” originated from the French responsible, which means “who guarantees” or “who answers”. The French word, however, derives from the Latin responsus, from the past participle of answer, which means “affirm” or “answer”.
In English, responsible can be literally translated as responsible.
Legal responsible
In the legal field, the legal responsible is the individual endowed with the power to represent a person who is a minor or incapable.
For example, parents are normally the legal guardians of their children, from the moment it is registered in the official registry.
Synonyms for responsible
(in the sense of being serious and sensible)
- Serious
- Mature
- filed
- Conscious
- sensible
- Prudent
- weighted
- reflected
- respectful
(in the sense of having a task or function)
- In charge
- leader
- steward
- incumbent
(in the sense of being the cause of a certain situation)
- Guilty
- Author
- Agent
- motivator
Learn more about the meaning of responsibility and social responsability.