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• ability
  ability

  noun

  power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.
• -ability
  -ability

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

ability

¹ American  

[uh-bil-i-tee] / əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• abilities
  plural

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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Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• subability
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• abilities
  plural

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” ( see able) + -tās -ty ²; replacing Middle English ablete, from Old French, from Latin, as above

Origin of -ability²

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

Explanation

Ability is skill or talent. You might have the ability to blow bubbles, or sing in a falsetto, or dance the waltz. Or, just maybe, you have the ability to do all three things at once. Impressive! From the Old French ablate "expert at handling (something)," and that from the Latin habilitatem, "aptitude," comes the English ability, a noun indicating the power to act, perform, or accomplish. Capacity is similar in meaning to ability, but note that people have a capacity for doing something, and an ability to do something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ability abilities

Although the device has demonstrated promising results in early testing, its ability to relieve chronic pain or improve movement disorders in human patients has not yet been established.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Piggyback loans often require sturdy credit history and an ability to show the lender on the primary mortgage you can afford to simultaneously pay both loans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

On the other, you have the Brewers, with the 17th-ranked payroll in baseball and a miraculous ability to win games without hitting home runs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen has said the sanctions would seriously affect the court's ability to function.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

If there are exact locations in the brain that allow for the ability to hear or to breathe, is there a place that generates human social behavior?

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

For those who have watched Hartnett grow throughout his career, the actor’s keen yet unassuming abilities surely don’t come as a shock.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

They attack people who have overcome barriers, worked hard and embraced a system that judges people on their abilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Those abilities may have allowed early RNA molecules to carry out chemistry that eventually contributed to the emergence of DNA, proteins and the first cells.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Yet after only two days of practice, Reaves has a stronger belief in this team’s defensive abilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

I like counting, and I’m a fast counter, but I don’t have superhero abilities.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Related Words

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