Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell responsible

What it means: Having the duty of taking care of something or someone.

In a sentence: Tommy is responsible for feeding his pet turtle every day. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as responsable or responcible.

Same family: responsibility, responsibly, irresponsible, responsible for, take responsibility. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Responsible” comes from Latin *responsus*, the past participle of *respondēre*, meaning “to answer.” Originally, being responsible was closely linked to being answerable for your actions.

Patterns it uses: -able or -ible? · The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

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