This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
capable
[ key-puh-buhl ]
/ ˈkeɪ pə bəl /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective
having power and ability; efficient; competent: a capable instructor.
OTHER WORDS FOR capable
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Idioms about capable
- having the ability or capacity for: a man capable of judging art.
- open to the influence or effect of; susceptible of: a situation capable of improvement.
- predisposed to; inclined to: capable of murder.
capable of,
Origin of capable
synonym study for capable
1. See able.
OTHER WORDS FROM capable
Words nearby capable
Cao Yu, cap, capa, capability, Capablanca, capable, capacious, capacitance, capacitate, capacitive, capacitive coupling
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use capable in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for capable
capable
/ (ˈkeɪpəbəl) /
adjective
having ability, esp in many different fields; competent
(postpositive foll by of) able or having the skill (to do something)she is capable of hard work
(postpositive foll by of) having the temperament or inclination (to do something)he seemed capable of murder
Derived forms of capable
capableness, nouncapably, adverbWord Origin for capable
C16: from French, from Late Latin capābilis able to take in, from Latin capere to take
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