accountability.

The condition of being required to explain and answer for conduct, decisions or use of resources to a relevant person or body.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• public accountability
• accountability for a decision

On the page

Public accountability required the office to explain how the decision had been reached.

Accountability for a decision remained unclear because several bodies shared authority.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: responsibility analysis, evidence qualification, ethical distinction, institutional judgment. Disciplines: academic writing, ethics, legal-administrative reasoning. Commonness: moderately common.