able

[ ey-buhl ]

See synonyms for: able ablest on Thesaurus.com

adjective,a·bler, a·blest.

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.
having unusual or superior intelligence, skill, etc.: an able leader.

showing talent, skill, or knowledge: an able speech.
legally empowered, qualified, or authorized.

noun

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

Origin of able

First recorded in1275–1325; Middle English, fromMiddle French, fromLatin habilis “handy,” equivalent tohab(ēre) “to have, hold” +-ilis adjective suffix;see -ile

synonym study For able

1. 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 words for able

1	fit, fitted
2	talented; skilled, clever, ingenious
3	apt

See synonyms for able on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for able

1	incompetent

See antonyms for able on Thesaurus.com

Other words from able

o·ver·a·ble, adjective
o·ver·a·b·ly, adverb

Other definitions for -able (2 of 2)

-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).

Origin of -able

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

Also -ble, -ible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use able in a sentence

Their finest thinkers and ablest warriors migrated southward.
India’s Newest State Telangana Is Bosnia Redux | Kranti Rai | March 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Defense Secretary Robert Gates saw Petraeus as the ablest choice.
New Biography of General Petraeus Misses the Man | John Barry | February 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
For many years his staff has been the ablest on Capitol Hill, but most of the public never knew their names.
Ted Kennedy, the Eulogist | Adam Clymer | August 26, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
She is immensely rich, one of the ablest political women in London, and Jack is desperately in love with her.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
Reverend McCarthy, one of the oldest, and regarded as one of the strongest, one of the ablest ministers to such a forsaken charge.
The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux

Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury, died; an English statesman, the ablest minister of his time.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
Mr. Grierson was, perhaps, the ablest witness before Parliamentary Committees the railway service ever had, which is saying much.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph Tatlow
His Evidences of Christianity is one of the ablest defences of the Christian religion that has ever appeared.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell

British Dictionary definitions for able (1 of 2)

able

/ (ˈeɪbəl) /

adjective

(postpositive) having the necessary power, resources, skill, time, opportunity, etc, to do something: able to swim
capable; competent; talented: an able teacher

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

Origin of able

C14: ultimately from Latin habilis easy to hold, manageable, apt, from habēre to have, hold + -ilis -ile

British Dictionary definitions for -able (2 of 2)

-able

suffix forming adjectives

capable of, suitable for, or deserving of (being acted upon as indicated): enjoyable; pitiable; readable; separable; washable
inclined to; given to; able to; causing: comfortable; reasonable; variable

Origin of -able

via Old French from Latin -ābilis, -ībilis, forms of -bilis, adjectival suffix

Derived forms of -able

-ably, suffix forming adverbs
-ability, suffix forming nouns

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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