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/lˈaɪəbəl/ Listen

adjective

Liable adj.

Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his principal.

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.

Synonyms: Accountable; responsible; answerable; bound; subject; obnoxious; exposed. 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." "All human things are subject to decay."

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Etymology of 'Liable'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Liable" Quotes from Famous Books

... of mature years, has abated that love. And herein is exemplified the advantage which the love of books has over the other kinds of love. Women are by nature fickle, and so are men; their friendships are liable to dissipation at the merest provocation ...

— The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac • Eugene Field

... of remark, that the great lakes of Upper Canada are liable to the formation of the Prester or water-spout, and that several instances are recorded of the occurrence of that truly extraordinary phenomenon, the theory of which, however, is well known. Whether electricity be a cause or a consequence ...

— The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1 of 2) • George Warburton

... arts to survey sympathetically universal emotions, those by which our own lives have been touched, or to which they are liable; we are enabled to survey bitterness and frustration calmly because they are set in a perspective, a beautiful perspective, in which they shine out clear and persuasive, purified of that bitter personal tang which makes sorrow in real life so different in tone ...

— Human Traits and their Social Significance • Irwin Edman

... plummet, for the purpose of determining the perpendicular to the horizon [for building purposes?]; . . . when we consider its symmetry of form, the contrast of colors brought out by the process of grinding and polishing, and the delicate drilling of the hole through a material (syenite) so liable to fracture, we are free to say it affords an exhibition of the lapidary's skill superior to anything yet furnished by the ...

— Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel • Ignatius Donnelly

... to the good of the school. I have nothing to say against these motives so far as they go, but they are inadequate. The relation between the piece of work to be done and affection for a third person is external, not intrinsic. It is therefore liable to break down whenever the external conditions are changed. Moreover, this attachment to a particular person, while in a way social, may become so isolated and exclusive as to be selfish in quality. In any case, the child should gradually grow out of ...

— Moral Principles in Education • John Dewey

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