ability
noun
power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.
ability
1 American
[uh-bil-i-tee]
/ əˈbɪl ɪ ti /
noun
-
abilities
plural
-
power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.
- Synonyms:
- dexterity, expertness, proficiency, capability
-
competence in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, training, or other qualification.
the ability to sing well.
-
abilities, talents; special skills or aptitudes.
Composing music is beyond his abilities.
-ability
2
American
ability
British
/ əˈbɪlɪtɪ /
noun
-
possession of the qualities required to do something; necessary skill, competence, or power
the ability to cope with a problem
-
considerable proficiency; natural capability
a man of ability
-
(plural) special talents
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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- )
Compare meaning
How does ability compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing ability
"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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Workshop 1, Part 1
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Investors are growing more optimistic around Saudi Arabia’s ability to restore its East-West pipeline, analysts said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
So what impact does this lack of connectivity have on Londoners and their ability to earn a living, and what are the reasons behind it?
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
If some of these satellites get hacked, damaged, derailed, or destroyed, America’s ability to fight a war would be seriously degraded.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
She "is facing mobility issues and has lost a significant portion of her ability to walk", it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
When we lose that ability, we end up like Phineas.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
AI has shown an ability to rapidly advance because it is matching the abilities of humans who are constantly feeding it their knowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Back then, the nonprofit had crafted a large language model known as GPT-2, whose advanced text-generating abilities purportedly made it too dangerous for public consumption.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026
They say AI firms exaggerate the tech's abilities to boost their prominence or profit.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Those concerns are magnified for our children whose brains are just forming, and their cognitive abilities are still developing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
As time passed, word grew of Maeve’s abilities.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate