aptitude
[ap-ti-tood, -tyood]
- capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent: She has a special aptitude for mathematics.
- readiness or quickness in learning; intelligence: He was placed in honors classes because of his general aptitude.
- the state or quality of being apt; special fitness.
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Origin of aptitude
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
predilectionpropensityproficiencysavvyknackcompetenceflairbentdriftdispositionleaningtendencyproclivitytalentabilitygiftintelligencecapabilitystuffsmartsExamples from the Web for aptitude
Contemporary Examples
So the KGB assembled a group of young women with an aptitude for languages.
But that won't do for the folks without the aptitude to enter the new high-skilled fields.
“The girls we teach have the aptitude, and they can get a job right out of high school,” she says.
New Feminists: Young, Multicultural, Strategic, and Looking Out for Each OtherGail Sheehy
February 26, 2013
Others say Wong is smart, and has an aptitude for understanding foreign policy.
According to the Aptitude Chronology report, she was also diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
Former Student Claims U.S. Naval Academy Had ‘Zero Tolerance’ for Rape VictimsJesse Ellison
May 4, 2012
Historical Examples
He appeared to have no aptitude at all for the business of soap making.
The Age of InventionHolland Thompson
He had seized a sword from a dying hand and was wielding it with aptitude and power.
The Martian CabalRoman Frederick Starzl
When Piloti became old enough he was taught the piano, for which he had aptitude.
MelomaniacsJames Huneker
It substitutes an aptitude for what ought to be pure acquirement.
The Bramleighs Of Bishop's FollyCharles James Lever
It is doubtful if the Phoenicians possessed any aptitude for the arts.
The Legacy of GreeceVarious
aptitude
- inherent or acquired ability
- ease in learning or understanding; intelligence
- the condition or quality of being apt
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Word Origin
C15: via Old French from Late Latin aptitūdō, from Latin aptus apt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for aptitude
n.
early 15c., "tendency, likelihood," from Middle French aptitude (14c.) or directly from Late Latin aptitudo (genitive aptitudinis) "fitness," noun of quality from Latin aptus "joined, fitted" (see apt). Meaning "natural capacity to learn" is 1540s; that of "quality of being fit (for a purpose or position)" is from 1640s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper