ability
/əˈbɪl.ə.ti/
ability noun: suitableness.
Noun
ability (countable and uncountable, plural abilities)
- Suitableness.
- The quality or state of being able; capacity to do or of doing something; having the necessary power.
- This phone has the ability to have its software upgraded wirelessly.
- This wood has the ability to fight off insects, fungus, and mold for a considerable time.
- Synonyms:
- capacity, faculty, capability, talent, cleverness, dexterity, aptitude, aptness
- The legal wherewithal to act.
- The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68
- Physical power.
- Financial ability.
- A unique power of the mind; a faculty.
- A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude.
- a mixed-ability class
- They are persons of ability, who will go far in life.
- Synonyms:
- skill
ability meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
ability in Hindi
- quality or state of being able
- योग्यता yogyatā, योग्यत्व yogyatva, क्षमता kṣamtā, सामर्थ्य sāmarthya
- a skill or competence
- सामर्थ्य sāmarthya, योग्यता yogyatā
- a high level of capability or skill
- कौशल kauśal, कुशल kuśal
ability in Tamil
- quality or state of being able
- திறமை tiṟamai, திறன் tiṟaṉ
- a skill or competence
- திறன் tiṟaṉ, தகுதி takuti
- a high level of capability or skill
- திறமை tiṟamai
ability in Urdu
- quality or state of being able
- یوگیتا yogyatā, یوگیتو yogyatva
ability in Bengali
- quality or state of being able
- কুদরত kudorot, ক্ষমতা khomota
More languagesFewer languages
- ability in Telugu
- దక్షత dakṣata, సత్తా sattā
- ability in Malayalam
- കഴിവ് kaḻivŭ, പ്രാപ്തി prāpti, പിടിപ്പ് piṭippŭ
- ability in Kannada
- ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ, ಅಳವು, ಅಣ್ಮು, ಆಪು
- ability in Punjabi
- ਯੋਗਤਾ yogtā, ਤਾਕਤ tākat
- ability in Sanskrit
- समर्थ samartha, ओजस् ójas, दक्ष dákṣa, शक्ति
- ability in Tagalog
- kakayahan, abilidad
- ability in Arabic
- قُدْرَة qudra, مَقْدِرَة maqdira, اِسْتِطَاعَة istiṭāʕa, وُسْع wusʕ
- ability in Indonesian
- kemampuan, kesanggupan, kepandaian
- ability in Persian
- توانایی tavânâyi, توان tavân
- ability in Thai
- ความสามารถ kwaam-sǎa-mâat
- ability in Vietnamese
- năng lực
Examples of ability in a sentence
- She has an uncanny ability to defuse conflict.
- Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:
- The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability1848, Thomas Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II:
- His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph:
Synonyms of ability
Antonyms
Forms of ability
| plural | abilities |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | abilitie |
| alternative form (obsolete) | hability |
| alternative form (obsolete) | habilitie |
Origin of ability
First attested in the 1300s. From Middle English abilite (“suitability, aptitude, ability”), from Old French ableté, from Latin habilitās (“aptness, ability”), from habilis (“apt, fit, skillful, able”); equivalent to able + -ity.
Words formed from ability
Phrases with ability
Words that rhyme with ability
- sensibility
- utility
- facility
- disability
- compatibility
- possibility
- probability
- fertility
- fragility
- futility
- impossibility
- senility
36 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- virility
- vulnerability
- agility
- capability
- comfortability
- flexibility
- hostility
- improbability
- indomitability
- instability
- juvenility
- nobility
- stability
- accommodability
- affability
- backward compatibility
- backwards compatibility
- bouncebackability
- chewability
- creatability
- debility
- diffability
- ductility
- forward compatibility
- forwards compatibility
- fuckability
- humility
- impressionability
- ineffability
- irascibility
- manageability
- mutility
- tabability
- unassailability
- upward compatibility
- versatility
Questions about ability
- What does ability mean?
- Ability means suitableness.
- What is ability in Hindi?
- Ability in Hindi is योग्यता (yogyatā), योग्यत्व (yogyatva), क्षमता (kṣamtā). See Ability meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use ability in a sentence?
- She has an uncanny ability to defuse conflict.
- What part of speech is ability?
- Ability is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ability?
- Ability is pronounced /əˈbɪl.ə.ti/.
- What is the plural of ability?
- The plural of ability is abilities.
Words near ability in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ability (page history and authors); കഴിവ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ability (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਤਾਕਤ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ओजस् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-ability.ogg, en-ca-ability.ogg.
Cite this entry: “ability.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ability. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.