aptitude
Americannoun
-
capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent.
She has a special aptitude for mathematics.
- Synonyms:
- bent, propensity, proclivity, predisposition, faculty, gift
-
readiness or quickness in learning; intelligence.
He was placed in honors classes because of his general aptitude.
- Synonyms:
- acumen
-
the state or quality of being apt; special fitness.
noun
-
inherent or acquired ability
-
ease in learning or understanding; intelligence
-
the condition or quality of being apt
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of aptitude
First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin aptitūdō; see origin at apt, -i-, -tude
Explanation
An aptitude is something you're good at. A rock star might have an aptitude for energizing an audience, or for trashing his hotel room. When you have a talent or do something well, people say that you have an aptitude for it. But you don't have to be born with an aptitude; you can also acquire your abilities. You are probably already well acquainted with this word, since the zillions of standardized tests you have taken in school are usually called aptitude tests.
Vocabulary lists containing aptitude
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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The Giver
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The spirit doesn’t join you unless you’ve shown you’ve got an aptitude or a willingness to work with it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Lodge is being a bit modest when he plays down his family’s business aptitude.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Maybe you thought you’d excel at one aspect of the job, but it turns out you have an aptitude for something completely different.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
It was here that his decided interpretive aptitude for Mahler took hold, stirred in part by his longstanding affection for the composer’s expansive musical worldview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
He showed a natural aptitude for jumping and loved competing, but nothing comes easy for my brother.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
A national AI-employment system could provide individual assistance to the unemployed: assessing their aptitudes and interest and matching them with emerging jobs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Children can start learning at these levels at different ages, decided by the school depending on "individual needs and aptitudes".
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2023
The paper's authors add that the results could potentially help better illuminate the learning process, identify the causes behind certain afflictions, and spot sound-related aptitudes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2023
At the other end of the spectrum, those same aptitudes, traits and qualities must be present as well.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
Lori, because of her good grades and art portfolio, had been accepted into a government-sponsored summer camp for students with special aptitudes.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
