Ability meaning in english

a•bil•i•ty /əˈbɪlɪti/ USA pronunciation n., pl. -ties. • power or skill to do, make, or think; talent: [ ]has the ability to do well. [ ]His abilities are many. See -habil-. -ability, suffix. • -ability, a combination of -able and -ity, is used to form nouns from adjectives that end in -able: capable (adjective) → capability (noun); reliable (adjective) → reliability (noun). a•bil•i•ty (ə bil ′i tē), USA pronunciation n., pl. -ties. • power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc. • 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. • Latin, as above • Old French • Latin habilitās aptitude, equivalent. to habili( s) handy (see able) + -tās - ty 2; replacing Middle English ablete • Middle French • Middle English ( h) abilite 1350–1400 • 1. See corresponding entry in Unabridged capability; proficiency, expertness, dexterity. • 2. See corresponding entry in Unabridged 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. -abilit...

See usage note: Do not confuse ability with capability and capacity. You often use ability to say that someone can do something well. He had remarkable ability as a musician. ...the ability to bear hardship. A person's capability is the amount of work they can do and how well they can do it. ...a job that was beyond the capability of one man. ...the director's ideas of the capability of the actor. If someone has a particular capacity, a capacity for something, or a capacity to do something, they have the qualities required to do it. Capacity is a more formal word than ability. ...their capacity for hard work. ...his capacity to see the other person's point of view. 3. See SYNONYMS 1. capability; proficiency, expertness, dexterity. 2. 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. Her drama teacher noticed her ability. • American English: əˈbɪlɪti/ • Arabic: قُدْرَة • Brazilian Portuguese: habilidade • Chinese: • Croatian: sposobnost • Czech: schopnost • Danish: evne • Dutch: vermogen • European Spanish: • Finnish: kyky • French: • German: • Greek: ικανότητα • Italian: • Japanese: 能力 • Korean: • Norwegian: evne • Polish: z...

/əˈbɪlɪti/ Other forms: abilities 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.