ability

Everyday

1. Ability is the power or skill to do something. tree →
2. An ability is a special talent, something a person is good at. tree →
3. Ability can also mean how well someone can do something, as in «reading ability». tree →

In the lessons

In school it is used for what pupils can do and how well: «ability to read», «to the best of your ability» (as well as you can). In science it describes what animals and plants can do: the ability to fly, see in the dark or change colour. In everyday life and stories it describes talents and powers, including superheroes' powers. «Disability» is the word for a condition that makes some things harder to do.

Examples

• Bats have the ability to find their way in the dark. tree →
• She has a great ability to make people laugh. tree →
• Do the test to the best of your ability. tree →
• The ability to swim can save your life. tree →
• Each superhero has a different special ability. tree →
• Practice will improve your reading ability. tree →
• Chameleons have the ability to change colour. tree →
• Grateful for these favours, the animals determined to repay him to the best of their ability. tree →

Note

Countable noun: an ability, many abilities. Followed by «to + verb»: «the ability to swim» (not «ability of swimming»). Opposite: inability. Adjective: able. Do not confuse with «capacity» (how much something can hold).

In Jewish tradition

In Ezra the returning exiles give gifts "after their ability", meaning as much as each could afford, to rebuild the Temple.

Interpretation. The tradition sees this as a model of giving: each person gives according to their means, and all count.

Examples

• It tends to be used of things that are marvelous, miraculous, or otherwise supernatural and extraordinary, i.e. that which defies the human ability to do or understand and must therefore be divine, e.g. [Deuteronomy 28:59], [Psalm 118:23], [Psalm 139:6]. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• they gave after their ability into the treasury of the work threescore and one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' tunics. (Writings EZR.2.69, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable noun: an ability, many abilities. Followed by «to + verb»: «the ability to swim» (not «ability of swimming»). Opposite: inability. Adjective: able. Do not confuse with «capacity» (how much something can hold).