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Liable vs Eligible - What's the difference?

liable | eligible |

As adjectives the difference between liable and eligible

is that liable is bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable while eligible is suitable; meeting the conditions; worthy of being chosen; allowed to do something.

As a noun eligible is

one who is eligible.

liable

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable.
    • The surety is liable for the debt of his principal.
  • * 1748 . David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 34.
    • The passion for philosophy, like that for religion, seems liable to this inconvenience
  • Exposed to a certain contingency or casualty, more or less probable.
  • Likely.
    • Someone is liable to slip on your icy sidewalk.

    Related terms

    * liability * reliable

    Anagrams

    * * *

    eligible

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Suitable; meeting the conditions; worthy of being chosen; allowed to do something.

    • Usage notes

    Used in the phrase (eligible bachelor) to mean “desirable male”, the corresponding term for a woman is nubile.

    Related terms

    * eligibility * eligibly * elite * choosable * licensed

    Synonyms

    * qualified

    Antonyms

    * ineligible * unqualified

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who is eligible.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=October 3, author=Diane Ravitch, title=Get Congress Out of the Classroom, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Federal agencies report that only about 1 percent of eligible students take advantage of switching schools and fewer than 20 percent of eligibles receive extra tutoring.}}