Liable vs. Likely

How to use "liable" and "likely" correctly

This is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.

Although liable is now very commonly used to mean “likely,” there are still some traditionalists who want to restrict its usage to “responsible”:

liable to rain today
liable to get hurt if you keep doing that

likely to rain today
likely to get hurt if you keep doing that

You are liable for any damage you cause. (responsible)

Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English

List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list

Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage