responsabilizar

to hold responsible

verb reh-spon-sah-bee-lee-SAHR Less Common

Usage Note

Responsabilizar is used reflexively (responsabilizarse de algo) to mean to take responsibility for something, and transitively to attribute blame to someone else (lo responsabilizaron del accidente). The preposition de is required after the verb. It is more formal than culpar and implies legal or moral accountability rather than mere blame.

Examples

"El gobierno se responsabilizó del error."

Natural Translation

The government took responsibility for the mistake.

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