capable

[ key-puh-buhl ]

adjective

1. having power and ability; efficient; competent:

   a capable instructor.

   Synonyms: accomplished, ingenious, skillful

capable

/ ˈkeɪpəbəl /

adjective

1. having ability, esp in many different fields; competent
2. postpositivefoll byof able or having the skill (to do something)

   she is capable of hard work

3. postpositivefoll byof having the temperament or inclination (to do something)

   he seemed capable of murder

Derived Forms

• ˈcapably, adverb
• ˈcapableness, noun

Other Words From

• capa·ble·ness noun
• capa·bly adverb
• over·capa·ble adjective
• quasi-capa·ble adjective
• quasi-capa·bly adverb
• super·capa·ble adjective
• super·capa·ble·ness noun
• super·capa·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of capable¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Late Latin capābilis “intelligent, understandable,” apparently equivalent to cap(āx) “competent, fit, roomy” ( capacity ) + -ābilis able

Word History and Origins

Origin of capable¹

C16: from French, from Late Latin capābilis able to take in, from Latin capere to take

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. capable of,
   1. having the ability or capacity for:

      a man capable of judging art.

   2. open to the influence or effect of; susceptible of:

      a situation capable of improvement.

   3. predisposed to; inclined to:

      capable of murder.

Synonym Study

See able.

Example Sentences

Family stories are funny things, though, capable of morphing and shifting over the years until the unknowns outnumber the knowns.

From Washington Post

Technology capable of changing your brain’s activity with just a subtle nudge, however, brings “manipulation risks to the next level,” Ienca says.

From Science News For Students

Technology capable of changing your brain’s activity with just a subtle nudge, however, “brings current manipulation risks to the next level,” Ienca says.

From Science News

It’s also become evident that children are capable of transmitting the virus to some extent.

From ProPublica

That meant populous Fairfax County, which with the Inova hospital system had set up a network of sites capable of delivering at least 30,000 doses weekly, was positioned to scoop up more than half of Virginia’s weekly vaccine allocation.

From Washington Post

At that point, who knows what they could have been capable of.

From The Daily Beast

Hollywood might possibly fear North Korean sleeper cells capable of blowing up theaters that screen anti-Nork films.

From The Daily Beast

Because especially my sister is not capable of doing the stuff that he is accusing her of doing.

From The Daily Beast

Researchers in subsequent decades have indeed documented the violence, sexual and otherwise, that these birds are capable of.

From The Daily Beast

Designed for “special missions,” the privately owned company is capable of transporting precious cargo anywhere in the world.

From The Daily Beast

Nowhere can be found a region capable of supporting a larger population to the square mile than Lombardy.

From Project Gutenberg

I should pay a capable secretary like you—knowing several languages and all that—say forty dollars a week.

From Project Gutenberg

She did not realize that a passion for a business enterprise, as for a woman, is capable of destroying the balance of any man.

From Project Gutenberg

Aunt Ri gazed at her with a sentiment as near to veneration as her dry, humorous, practical nature was capable of feeling.

From Project Gutenberg

He is shining black, and as he tosses his head one can see the wicked horns, capable of doing such terrible injury.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• able
• accomplished
• adept
• adequate
• competent
• efficient
• experienced
• gifted
• good
• intelligent
• proficient
• qualified
• skillful
• suited
• talented