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• able
  able

  adjective

  having necessary power, skill, resources, or qualifications; qualified.
• -able
  -able

  a suffix meaning “capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to,” associated in meaning with the word able, occurring in loanwords from Latin (laudable ); used in English as a highly productive suffix to form adjectives by addition to stems of any origin (teachable; photographable ).

able

¹ American  

[ay-buhl] / ˈeɪ bəl /

adjective

abler, ablest

1. having necessary power, skill, resources, or qualifications; qualified.

   able to lift a two-hundred-pound weight; able to write music; able to travel widely; able to vote.

   Synonyms:

   fitted, fit

   Antonyms:

   incompetent

2. having unusual or superior intelligence, skill, etc..

   an able leader.

   Synonyms:

   ingenious, clever, skilled, talented

3. showing talent, skill, or knowledge.

   an able speech.

   Synonyms:

   apt

4. legally empowered, qualified, or authorized.

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noun

1. Usually Able a code word formerly used in communications to represent the letter A.

-able ² American  

1. a suffix meaning “capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to,” associated in meaning with the word able, occurring in loanwords from Latin (laudable ); used in English as a highly productive suffix to form adjectives by addition to stems of any origin (teachable; photographable ).

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able ¹ British  

/ ˈeɪbəl /

adjective

1. (postpositive) having the necessary power, resources, skill, time, opportunity, etc, to do something

   able to swim

2. capable; competent; talented

   an able teacher

3. law qualified, competent, or authorized to do some specific act

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-able ² British  

suffix

1. capable of, suitable for, or deserving of (being acted upon as indicated)

   enjoyable

   pitiable

   readable

   separable

   washable

2. inclined to; given to; able to; causing

   comfortable

   reasonable

   variable

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Synonym Usage

Able, capable, competent all mean possessing adequate power for doing something. Able implies power equal to effort required: able to finish in time. Capable implies power to meet or fulfill ordinary requirements: a capable worker. Competent suggests power to meet demands in a completely satisfactory manner: a competent nurse.

Other Word Forms

• overable
  adjective
• overably
  adverb
• -ability
  suffix
• -ably
  suffix

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Etymology

Origin of able¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin habilis “handy,” equivalent to hab(ēre) “to have, hold” + -ilis adjective suffix; see -ile

Origin of -able²

Middle English < Old French < Latin -ābilis, equivalent to -ā- final vowel of 1st conjugation v. stems + -bilis

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Explanation

If you're able to juggle, you'll go far in life. To be able is to have the skill, knowledge, or permission to do something. Able is an adjective that describes the ability to do a particular thing, like your friend who's able to ride a motorcycle and your dog that's able to roll over on command. It can also mean very skilled or capable, as when you describe your sister as an able tap dancer. Able comes from the Latin word habilis, "easily handled or apt." The h is silent in Latin, which led to it being dropped from the English able.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

able -able abler ablest

Since 2024 children in four primary schools have been able to get apples, bananas and other fruit as part of the pilot scheme.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

In March, French newspaper Le Monde was able to locate the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in almost real time in the eastern Mediterranean, thanks to a sailor on board using the app.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

One cousin could turn his inheritance into billions while another may not even be able to afford his or her children’s college tuition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The 77-year-old singer has to take “a series of tests” before being able to tour again, he told the Hollywood Reporter in a health update following his 2025 brain disorder diagnosis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Before then she was only able to see things that would happen that day, and it has been the same for me.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Some of these foreign elements, like the -ize of materialize or the -able of breakable, are even productive to-day.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

In English we have naturalized -able as a suffix and added it to almost any verb, as 'laughable', 'indescribable', 'desirable'.

From Society for Pure English Tract 4 The Pronunciation of English Words Derived from the Latin by John Sargeaunt

What should be done with the terminations -able, -ible, -tion, -cial, -tive, -ive, and -sion?

From Division of Words Rules for the Division of Words at the Ends of Lines, with Remarks on Spelling, Syllabication and Pronunciation by Frederick W. (Frederick William) Hamilton

Do not confuse -EBL- with -EM- or -IND- in words which in English end in -able or -ible, but have two distinct meanings.

From The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto Grammar and Commentary by George Cox

Think or thinkable might be isolated, but as neither un- nor -able nor is-un yields a measurable satisfaction, we are compelled to leave unthinkable as an integral whole, a miniature bit of art.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

Rothbard blamed Smith’s celebrity for blotting out the better work of abler minds, but Turgot had kept his genius mainly to himself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Jimmy Carter was one of the abler residents, in his mid-seventies—too able for tracing letters.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 1, 2018

This leaves the real study of real economics, in the real world, wide open for abler minds.

From Forbes ● Apr. 17, 2015

For every Metzenbaum and Ottinger, there may be half a dozen abler candidates who cannot raise enough money to campaign.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Getting Lemoncello to cancel these so-called Olympic Games? Couldn’t have done it in an abler manner myself.”

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Cox proved to be Young’s ablest intelligence gatherer, even if the occasional bribes she endorsed put her agents at needless risk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s chief Supreme Court lawyer, is widely considered one of the ablest high-court advocates.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, he described Ms Sturgeon as being "one of the ablest communicators in politics".

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2023

In September 1948, a State Department report portrayed Ho as "the strongest and perhaps the ablest figure in Indochina," and said that "any suggested solution which excludes him is an expedient of uncertain outcome."

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2022

One of these young men was Cyril Ramaphosa, the general secretary of the National Union of Mine Workers and one of the ablest of the new generation of leadership.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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Related Words

• adept
• apt
• capable
• competent
• proficient
• skilled

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