ability

¹ American  

[uh-bil-i-tee] / əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

abilities

1. power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.

   Synonyms:

   dexterity, expertness, proficiency, capability

2. competence in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, training, or other qualification.

   the ability to sing well.

3. abilities, talents; special skills or aptitudes.

   Composing music is beyond his abilities.

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-ability ² American  

1. a combination of -able and -ity, found on nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -able:

   capability.

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ability British  

/ əˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. possession of the qualities required to do something; necessary skill, competence, or power

   the ability to cope with a problem

2. considerable proficiency; natural capability

   a man of ability

3. (plural) special talents

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Related Words

Ability, faculty, talent denote qualifications or powers. Ability is a general word for power, native or acquired, enabling one to do things well: a person of great ability; ability in mathematics. Faculty denotes a natural ability for a particular kind of action: a faculty of saying what he means. Talent is often used to mean a native ability or aptitude in a special field: a talent for music or art.

Other Word Forms

• subability noun

Etymology

Origin of ability¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (h)abilite, from Middle French, from Latin habilitās “aptitude,” equivalent to habili(s) “handy” ( able ) + -tās -ty ²; replacing Middle English ablete, from Old French, from Latin, as above

Origin of -ability¹

Middle English -abilite, from French -abilité, from Latin -ābilitās (inflectional stem -ābilitāt- )

Compare meaning

How does ability compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• capability vs. ability

Example Sentences

Rubin’s skills, former colleagues say, included an encyclopedic recall, the ability to explain his bets in plain English and a high threshold for risk.

From The Wall Street Journal

While the ability to straddle two generations was once a badge of honour, Ji says he has become self-conscious about interacting with younger colleagues for fear of being labelled a kkondae or Young 40.

From BBC

"He had a rare ability to lift spirits and bring smiles wherever he went," she added.

From BBC

Phil Foden on the right wing or Matheus Nunes have shown this ability in the past and the latter was a particular miss.

From BBC

"When the lip sync ability is combined with conversational AI such as ChatGPT or Gemini, the effect adds a whole new depth to the connection the robot forms with the human," said Yuhang Hu, who led the study as part of his PhD work.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• capability
• capacity
• competence
• intelligence
• qualification
• skill
• strength
• talent
• understanding