capable

[key-puh-buhl]

adjective

1. having power and ability; efficient; competent.

   a capable instructor.

   Synonyms: accomplished, ingenious, skillful

capable

/ ˈkeɪpəbəl /

adjective

1. having ability, esp in many different fields; competent

2. able or having the skill (to do something)

   she is capable of hard work

3. having the temperament or inclination (to do something)

   he seemed capable of murder

Other Word Forms

• capableness noun
• capably adverb
• overcapable adjective
• quasi-capable adjective
• quasi-capably adverb
• supercapable adjective
• supercapableness noun
• supercapably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of capable¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Late Latin capābilis “intelligent, understandable,” apparently equivalent to cap(āx) “competent, fit, roomy” ( capacity ) + -ābilis able

Word History and Origins

Origin of capable¹

C16: from French, from Late Latin capābilis able to take in, from Latin capere to take

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. capable of,

   1. having the ability or capacity for.

      a man capable of judging art.

   2. open to the influence or effect of; susceptible of.

      a situation capable of improvement.

   3. predisposed to; inclined to.

      capable of murder.

Synonym Study

See able.

Example Sentences

We need automated real-time systems capable of disseminating alerts across sectors in hours, not weeks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Are these leaders capable of actually addressing the public-security crisis?” he asked.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In our testing, we’ve found it capable of wide-ranging conversations about classical architecture, campground amenities, the solubility of selenium—you know, typical Friday night banter.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Bazballers are the sort of team capable of bouncing back from the pounding in Perth with a blitz of Brisbane.

Read more on BBC

With the release of its third version this week, Google’s Gemini large language model surged past ChatGPT and other competitors to become the most capable AI chatbot, as determined by consensus industry-benchmark tests.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• able 
• accomplished 
• adept 
• adequate 
• competent 
• efficient 
• experienced 
• gifted 
• good 
• intelligent 
• proficient 
• qualified 
• skillful 
• suited 
• talented