responsible

/ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/

//ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"responsible" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“responsible” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,407. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,407
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having the duty of taking care of something; answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically.

Corpus desk

Index EN-responsible · responsible · English

responsible · rank #1,407 · 18 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,407
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rates

Nearest frequency peer: rates (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “responsible”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “responsible” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

responsible vs responsive
82% similar
responsible vs responsibly
91% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for responsible
PropertyValue
Headwordresponsible
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/
Letters11
Frequency rank#1,407
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “responsible”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).responsiblelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “rates” (#1,406), “shop” (#1,408), “purpose” (#1,405). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “responsible” is #1,407. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around responsible (IPA /ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,407 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for responsible, with forms such as "ersponsible", "repsonsible", and "resopnsible". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "responsive", "responsibly", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French responsable, from Old French responsable, responsible, formed from the root of Latin responsus, from respondere. The spelling of the English word is taken from the Old French variant responsible. By surface analysis, response + -ible. The correct English form is responsible, spelled R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having the duty of taking care of something; answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically.
  2. 2
    Being a primary cause of a situation or action and thus able to be blamed or credited for it.
  3. 3
    Answerable to (a superior).
  4. 4
    Involving important duties; involving a degree of personal accountability on the part of the person concerned.
  5. 5
    Having good judgment in decision-making.
  6. 6
    Able to be trusted; reliable; trustworthy.
  7. 7
    Capable of rational conduct and thus morally accountable for one's behavior.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how responsible appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Parents are responsible for their child's behaviour.
  2. Who is responsible for this mess?

Etymology

From Middle French responsable, from Old French responsable, responsible, formed from the root of Latin responsus, from respondere. The spelling of the English word is taken from the Old French variant responsible. By surface analysis, response + -ible.

Antonyms

irresponsible

This word in other languages

responsable(Español)responsable(Français)verantwortlich(Deutsch)responsável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ersponsible
  • repsonsible
  • resopnsible
  • respnosible
  • responisble
  • responnsible
  • responsable
  • responsbile
  • responsibble
  • responsibel
  • responsiblle
  • responsilbe
  • responssible
  • resposnible
  • respponsible
  • ressponsible
  • rresponsible
  • rseponsible

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of responsible - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ersponsible2repsonsible2resopnsible2respnosible2responisble2responnsible1responsable1responsbile2
Edit distance from "responsible"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "responsible"?
"responsible" is spelled R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/.
What does "responsible" mean?
As an adjective, "responsible" means: Having the duty of taking care of something; answerable for an act performed or for its consequences; accountable; amenable, especially legally or politically.
What words are commonly confused with "responsible"?
"responsible" is commonly confused with "responsive", "responsibly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "responsible"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "responsible" is /ɹɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "responsible"?
From Middle French responsable, from Old French responsable, responsible, formed from the root of Latin responsus, from respondere. The spelling of the English word is taken from the Old French variant responsible. By surface analysis, response + ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "responsible", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

environment#1,424application#1,446established#1,336competition#1,300

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

organization18 variantsdescription18 variantsrelationship18 variantsperformance18 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list