Definition of "responsible" []

• Liable to be required to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust. (adjective)
• Involving personal accountability or ability to act without guidance or superior authority: a responsible position within the firm. (adjective)
• Being a source or cause. (adjective)
• Able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior. (adjective)
• Able to be trusted or depended upon; reliable. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Formerly, if any one said, “I am not alone responsible for this,” he was understood to mean (what alone his words mean in correct English), that he is not the sole person responsible; but if he now used such an expression, the reader would be confused between that and two other meanings: that he is not _only responsible_ but something more; or that he is responsible _not only for this_ but for something besides."
• "Kundra is responsible for «responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs, » Obama said."
• "The main responsible is the officer who pushed the “fire” button."