- possession of the qualities required to do something; necessary skill, competence, or power
- considerable proficiency; natural capability: a person of ability
- (plural) special talents
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
a•bil•i•ty /əˈbɪlɪti/USA pronunciation
n., pl. -ties.
-ability, suffix.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- power or skill to do, make, or think;
talent: [uncountable]has the ability to do well.[countable]His abilities are many.
-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.
-ability,
- 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 -ty2; replacing Middle English ablete
- Middle French
- Middle English (h)abilite 1350–1400
- 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.
-ability,
- a combination of -able and -ity, found on nouns corresponding to adjectives in -able: capability.
- Middle English -abilite
Latin -ābilitās
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ability /əˈbɪlɪtɪ/ n ( pl -ties)
'ability' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-able
- absolute pitch
- absorptance
- achievement
- acquire
- acumen
- adhesion
- aesthesia
- AIDS
- alexia
- ambitious
- anabiosis
- aphasia
- apraxia
- apt
- aptitude
- arrogant
- artistry
- attainment target
- attractive
- audition
- authority
- banding
- better
- blindsight
- boy
- brain
- brilliance
- buoyancy
- C
- cabbage
- calibre
- can
- capable
- capability
- capacity
- certificate
- chameleon
- choir school
- click beetle
- cloze test
- cobweb
- colony-stimulating factor
- colour-blind
- command
- compeer
- competence
- compliance
- compressibility
- ability grouping