able
adjective
Simple meaning
Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aybuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈeɪbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.
Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from.
Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.
'Able' means possessing the power or means to do something, often implying competence. It’s a very common adjective, and comparing it to 'capable' highlights that 'able' is more about general potential, while 'capable' often implies readiness.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where you'll really hear it
Everyday conversation
“Are you able to help me move this heavy box?”
Job descriptions
“Candidates must be able to work independently and in teams.”
Motivation speeches
“Believe in yourself; you are able to achieve great things.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use able
- “I am able to help you with that task tomorrow morning.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A seaman in the merchant marine.
Discrimination in favor of the able-bodied.
Discrimination in favor of the able-bodied.
A seaman in the merchant marine.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.