capability
noun
Simple meaning
The power or ability to generate an outcome.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kaypuhbiluhteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
keɪpəˈbɪləti
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.
noun
The power or ability to generate an outcome.
computing
A digital token allowing a user or process to interact in a specified way with an object that is subject to access control.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The power or ability to generate an outcome.
Used this way, capability is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use capability
- “He worked to the limits of his capability.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Power
Digital
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect the capacity to fight a war.
The capability of a technological system to perform as intended.
The capability of a technological system to perform as intended.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: power or ability to generate an outcome
Antonyms
Sense: power or ability to generate an outcome
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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.