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Task vs Responsibility - What's the difference?

task | responsibility |

As nouns the difference between responsibility and task

is that responsibility is the state of being responsible, accountable, or answerable while task is a piece of work done as part of one’s duties.

As a verb task is

to assign a task to, or impose a task on.

task

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A piece of work done as part of one’s duties.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= A new prescription , passage=As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one.}}
  • A difficult or tedious undertaking.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author= Ian Sample
    • , volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains , passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
  • An objective.
  • (computing) A process or execution of a program.

    • Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "task": difficult, easy, simple, hard, tough, complex, not-so-easy, challenging, complicated, tricky, formidable, arduous, laborious, onerous, small, big, huge, enormous, tremendous, gigantic, mammoth, colossal, gargantuan, social, intellectual, theological, important, basic, trivial, unpleasant, demanding, pleasant, noble, painful, grim, responsible, rewarding, boring, ungrateful, delightful, glorious, agreeable.

    Synonyms

    * (piece of work) chore * (difficult undertaking) undertaking * (objective) objective, goal * (process) process

    Derived terms

    * multitasking * subtask * task force * take to task * taskable * taskbody * tasklet * taskmaster

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To assign a task to, or impose a task on.
    • On my first day in the office, I was tasked with sorting a pile of invoices.
  • * 1610 , , act 1 scene 2
    • All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come / To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly, / To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride / On the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task / Ariel and all his quality.
  • * Dryden
    • There task thy maids, and exercise the loom.
  • To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.
  • To charge, as with a fault.
  • * Beaumont and Fletcher
    • Too impudent to task me with those errors.

    Anagrams

    * * *

    responsibility

    English

    Noun

    (responsibilities)
  • The state of being responsible, accountable, or answerable.
    • Responsibility is a heavy burden.
  • A duty, obligation or liability for which someone is held accountable.
    • Why didn't you clean the house? That was your responsibility !
    The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not to dominate the world -
  • (military) The obligation to carry forward an assigned task to a successful conclusion. With responsibility goes authority to direct and take the necessary action to ensure success. (JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).
  • (military) The obligation for the proper custody, care, and safekeeping of property or funds entrusted to the possession or supervision of an individual. (JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).

    • Synonyms

    * responsibleness

    Related terms

    * respond * response * responsible * responsibly

    See also

    * accountability

    References

    * * * Feltus, C.; Petit, M. (2009). "Building a Responsibility Model Including Accountability, Capability and Commitment", Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security'', Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ( IEEE ), Fukuoka, 2009. ''Building a Responsibility Model Including Accountability, Capability and Commitment