liable, apt, likely, prone, subject

responsible, liable

形容詞 liable:

1. at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant
   同義詞：apt
2. subject to legal action
3. (often followed by `to') likely to be affected with
   同義詞：nonimmune, nonresistant, unresistant
4. held legally responsible

1. We are liable to make mistakes.
   我們都易犯錯(cuò)誤。
2. Failure to pay your taxes will make you liable to prosecution.
   不繳納稅款就可能被起訴。
3. A feeble attempt is liable to fail.
   愚蠢的嘗試多半是要失敗的。
4. Every man is liable to error.
   人人都可能犯錯(cuò)誤。
5. He was not liable for his son's debts.
   他對(duì)自己兒子的債務(wù)沒(méi)有責(zé)任償還。

li.a.ble

adj.（形容詞）
Legally obligated; responsible:
有責(zé)任的，有義務(wù)的：按照法律負(fù)有義務(wù)的；有責(zé)任的：
例句：
liable for military service.See Synonyms at responsible
有服兵役的義務(wù)參見 responsible

At risk of or subject to experiencing or suffering something unpleasant. Used withto :
易受…影響的：易遭受或經(jīng)歷一些不好的事情或風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。常與to 連用：
例句：
liable to criminal charges; liable to diabetes.
可能被提起刑事起訴的；易患糖尿病的

Often used with reference to an unfavorable outcome:
有可能的：通常用來(lái)指某種不好的結(jié)果：
例句：
In a depression banks are liable to fail.
在經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條期間，銀行很可能倒閉

來(lái)源：
Middle English
中古英語(yǔ)
probably from Old French lier [to bind]
可能源自 古法語(yǔ) lier [使受約束]
from Latin lig3re * see leig-
源自 拉丁語(yǔ) lig3re *參見 leig-

Liable, apt, and likely are often used interchangeably in constructions with following infinitives, as inJohn is liable to lose, John is apt to lose, and John is likely to lose. The three words are distinct in meaning.A widely repeated rule holdsthatliable should only be used if the subject would be adversely affected by the outcome expressed by the infinitive. The rule therefore permitsJohn is liable to fall out of his chair if he doesn`t sit up straight but notThe chair is liable to be slippery, though constructions of the latter type have long been common in reputable writing.Apt usually suggests that the subject has a natural tendency enhancing the probability of an outcome, and that the speaker is in some way apprehensive about the outcome.Thusapt is more naturally used in a sentence like The fuel pump is apt to give out at any minute than in Even the clearest instructions are apt to be misinterpreted by those idiots (since the instructions are not at fault)or inThe fuel pump is apt to give you no problems for the life of the car (since there is no reason that the speaker should regard such an outcome as unfortunate).Likely is more general than either liable or apt. It ascribes no particular property to the subject that enhances the probability of the outcome:whileJohn is apt to lose the election may suggest that the loss will result from something John does or fails to do, John is likely to lose the election does not. Nor does it suggest anything about the desirability of the outcome from the point of view of either the speaker or the subject.A football coach who saysWe are apt to win may be suspected of sarcasm,and one who saysWe are liable to win may be suspected of having bet on the opposition;onlyWe are likely to win is consistent with the expression of an unambivalent expectation of victory. See Usage Note at likely
Liable，apt 和 likely 在如下不定式結(jié)構(gòu)中經(jīng)?？梢曰Q， 例如 John is liable to lose，John is apt to lose 和 John is likely to lose 。 這三個(gè)詞的意思是有區(qū)別的。一條公認(rèn)的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則認(rèn)為，只有當(dāng)主語(yǔ)受不定式所表示的動(dòng)作或結(jié)果的不利影響時(shí)，才使用liable 。 因此這條規(guī)則允許說(shuō)如果約翰不坐直身子的話，他很容易從椅子上掉下來(lái)的 ， 但不允許說(shuō)椅子可能很滑 ， 盡管在規(guī)范的寫作中，后一種類型的句型已經(jīng)很普遍了。Apt 通常表示主語(yǔ)有增加某種結(jié)果的可能性的自然傾向， 而且說(shuō)話者對(duì)此結(jié)果多少有些憂慮。因此，apt 用在句子 燃料泵可能隨時(shí)停止運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn) 中，比用在 即使是最明了的指令也有可能被那些白癡誤解 中更自然 （因?yàn)殄e(cuò)的不是指令），也比用在燃料可能不會(huì)對(duì)你的車的使用壽命帶來(lái)什么問(wèn)題 中更合適 （因?yàn)檎f(shuō)話者沒(méi)有理由認(rèn)為這樣一個(gè)結(jié)果很不幸）。Likely 比 liable 或 apt 更具概括性。 它并不說(shuō)明增加了一個(gè)結(jié)果的可能性的主語(yǔ)是否具有何特性：句子約翰在選舉中可能會(huì)失敗 可能暗示失敗歸因于約翰所做的或沒(méi)能做的某件事， 而句子約翰在選舉中有可能失敗 則沒(méi)有這種暗示。 另外，它也沒(méi)有關(guān)于說(shuō)話者或主語(yǔ)是否喜歡某一結(jié)果的暗示。如果一位足球教練說(shuō)We are apt to win ， 他可能帶有諷刺意味，但如果他說(shuō)We are liable to win ， 他的意思是他認(rèn)為他們可能會(huì)輸；只有說(shuō)We are likely to win ，才明確表示有希望獲勝 參見 likely