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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

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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- )

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Compare meaning

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

• capability vs. ability

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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

Yes, consumerism and the ability to repurpose images has progressed at a breakneck pace, and is more central to daily life than ever before.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Giroud honed his ability to make a late impact at Arsenal and Chelsea, making 103 substitute appearances in total across 10 seasons in the Premier League.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Men can contribute to babies well into their 80s—yes, sperm quality declines but not that much—while the ability to get pregnant is pretty much capped at age 45.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

The researchers wanted to examine these processes separately to determine how cortisol affects the brain's ability to recognize emotional significance and preserve an experience as a lasting memory.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

In cases where NTIs do not have a reasonable ability to manipulate events, it is still best to withhold information.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Geese were always an odd band to pin to anxieties about fabricated culture — if a label had resources and abilities to manufacture stars, why not do it for a 100x-hyperscaling pop act instead?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

AI is surpassing human abilities in pursuits from mathematics to computer programming, while threatening to alter or even eradicate many jobs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

That distinction matters because physical abilities vary considerably from person to person.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

AGI matches or exceeds human abilities across a specific cognitive task, according to the bank, whereas superintelligence would surpass human performance across every intellectual domain.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Her stated plan for that afternoon was to diwy us up among the first, second, and third readers, according to our abilities.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

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Related Words

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

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