2
general::
noun being responsible ADJ. full, total | awesome, great, heavy, weighty It is a great responsibility looking after other people's children. | direct | overall | primary | ultimate Ultimate responsibility rests with the prime minister. | special | diminished He was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. | sole | collective, joint, shared | individual, personal | ministerial, parental | financial, legal, moral, social VERB + RESPONSIBILITY have She has responsibility for public transport. | accept, assume, bear, shoulder, take (on/over) The bank refuses to accept responsibility for the mistake. Will you take responsibility for arranging the food? | share | lay, place The government of the time placed responsibility for the poor on the Church. | delegate, devolve, hand over devolving responsibility downwards so decisions are taken nearer to the people they will affect | abdicate, evade, shirk, shift to shift legal responsibility for the correct labelling of goods onto the shopkeeper | admit, claim No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. | deny, disclaim, duck Ducking responsibility is fatal in a democracy. | allocate, assign (sb), give sb | attribute He attributed responsibility for the killing to the secret service. | burden sb with | absolve sb from/of RESPONSIBILITY + VERB fall on sb, lie/rest with sb PREP. ~ for Full responsibility for the fiasco lies with the PR department. | ~ towards He feels a strong sense of responsibility towards his parents. PHRASES the age of criminal responsibility, the burden of responsibility The school governors carry a special burden of responsibility. | do sth on your own responsibility (= without being told to and being willing to take the blame if it goes wrong), a position of responsibility, a sense of responsibility job/duty ADJ. heavy, onerous | additional, increased | altered | caring, departmental, domestic, family, financial, managerial, ministerial, parental, professional, teaching | contractual, statutory | particular, special VERB + RESPONSIBILITY have | carry out, discharge, fulfil | accept, face up to, take on, undertake He seems unwilling to face up to his responsibilities as a father. I don't feel ready to take on new responsibilities. | delegate | avoid, evade, shirk | relieve sb of PREP. ~ for The heads of school departments have particular responsibilities for the curriculum. | ~ to/towards The club has a responsibility to its members. PHRASES duties and responsibilities, rights and responsibilities parental rights and responsibilities
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
responsibility
verbs
have responsibility for (doing) something
• The Council has responsibility for maintaining the streetlights.
take responsibility for (doing) something
• Who do you trust to take responsibility for our country's defence?
take on responsibility
( also assume responsibility formal ) (= start to have responsibility for something )
• These days men tend to take on more responsibility at home. • The government must assume greater responsibility for the care of the elderly.
shoulder responsibility
(= agree to start having a difficult or unpleasant duty )
• The city, she said, would shoulder responsibility for caring for the children.
shirk responsibility
(= not accept a duty you should accept )
• He doesn't shirk responsibility.
exercise responsibility
formal (= take action because you have responsibility for something )
• The citizens of ancient Athens met here to exercise their responsibility to govern themselves.
abdicate responsibility
formal (= refuse to have responsibility for something you used to have responsibility for )
• The state should not allow parents to abdicate responsibility for their children.
the responsibility lies with somebody
(= they are responsible for it )
• Ultimate responsibility for admissions lies with the Course Co-ordinator.
adjectives
personal responsibility
• So far, no one had taken personal responsibility for the project.
overall responsibility
• The Department of Education has overall responsibility for schools and universities.
direct responsibility
(= when no other person is involved )
• He has direct responsibility for all the programmes on Radio 1.
sole responsibility
(= not shared with others )
• The financial director has sole responsibility for financial matters.
collective responsibility
(= shared equally by a group of people )
• Head teachers should encourage a sense of collective responsibility among teachers.
primary responsibility
(= most important responsibility )
• I have primary responsibility for the children.
ultimate responsibility
(= responsibility for making a final decision )
• The National Assembly will have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that health targets are met.
phrases
a burden of responsibility
(= a lot of responsibility, that worries you )
• Being the only wage earner put a great burden of responsibility on my father.
a position of responsibility
(= a job in which people depend on you to tell them what they should do )
• Before the age of 21 he had attained a position of responsibility in the factory.
responsibility 2
verbs
accept/take responsibility for something
• To his credit, he took responsibility for his actions.
claim responsibility (for something)
(= say that you are responsible for something bad )
• No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings.
deny responsibility for something
• The company denied responsibility for the oil spillage.
bear responsibility for something
(= be responsible for something bad )
• Developed countries must bear much of the responsibility for environmental problems.
adjectives
full responsibility
• The airline accepted full responsibility for the crash.
personal responsibility
• I take personal responsibility for what went wrong.
transnet.ir