Able
['eɪb(ə)l] or ['ebl]
Definition
(adj.) (usually followed by `to') having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something; 'able to swim'; 'she was able to program her computer'; 'we were at last able to buy a car'; 'able to get a grant for the project' .
(adj.) having inherent physical or mental ability or capacity; 'able to learn'; 'human beings are able to walk on two feet'; 'Superman is able to leap tall buildings' .
(adj.) have the skills and qualifications to do things well; 'able teachers'; 'a capable administrator'; 'children as young as 14 can be extremely capable and dependable' .
(adj.) having a strong healthy body; 'an able seaman'; 'every able-bodied young man served in the army' .
Checked by Emma--From WordNet
Definition
(superl.) Fit; adapted; suitable.
(superl.) Having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object; possessed of qualifications rendering competent for some end; competent; qualified; capable; as, an able workman, soldier, seaman, a man able to work; a mind able to reason; a person able to be generous; able to endure pain; able to play on a piano.
(superl.) Specially: Having intellectual qualifications, or strong mental powers; showing ability or skill; talented; clever; powerful; as, the ablest man in the senate; an able speech.
(superl.) Legally qualified; possessed of legal competence; as, able to inherit or devise property.
(a.) To make able; to enable; to strengthen.
(a.) To vouch for.
Typed by Debora
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Clever, accomplished, talented, adroit, ingenious, expert, dexterous, apt, quick, skilful, efficient, proficient, good, versed, practical, AU FAIT.[2]. Qualified, fitted, competent.[3]. Capable, gifted, powerful, strong, mighty, highly endowed.[4]. Masterly, effective, telling.
Typist: Zamenhof
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Strong, powerful, clever, skillful, talented, capable, fitted, efficient,effective, learned, gifted, masterly, telling, nervous, vigorous
ANT:Weak, inefficient, unskillful, silly, stupid, incapable, ineffective,unqualified
Inputed by Brice
Definition
adj. (comp. A′bler; superl. A′blest) having sufficient strength power or means to do a thing: skilful.—adj. A′ble-bod′ied of a strong body: free from disability of a sailor labourer &c.: robust.—adv. A′bly.
Editor: Priscilla
Examples
- Few people of common prudence will do THAT; and whatever she saves, she will be able to dispose of. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Astronomers and geologists and those who study physics have been able to tell us something of the origin and history of the earth. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. Jane Austen. Emma.
- But if she does, I am quite sure you will find her sons able to defend their island, even against enmity and treachery. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- If it were even to take pains to prevent their importation, it would not be able to effectuate it. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- It is modernly used as a luxury by those who are able to combine with it other means for heating. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- He bent down so low to frown at his boots, that he was able to rub the calves of his legs in the pause he made. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The judges chosen were Mr. Oliver and an able lawyer: both coincided in my opinion: I carried my point. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Half a dozen able-bodied men were standing in a line from the well-mouth, holding a rope which passed over the well-roller into the depths below. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- That he leaves to abler and to purer hands. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Let us add to what has been written above a short passage from an abler and far more authoritative pen. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He was a more learned and far abler man than either St. Francis or St. Dominic. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- As for the Sultan, one could set a trap any where and catch a dozen abler men in a night. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Forrest, an abler soldier, operated farther west, and held from the National front quite as many men as could be spared for offensive operations. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The abler speakers were obliged to play to the gallery, and take a sentimental and sensational line. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Then came Julius Griffith, in 1821, of Brompton, who patented a steam carriage which was built by Joseph Bramah, one of the ablest mechanics of his time. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Twombly, Vanderbilt's ablest son-in-law, who made a success of it. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Rawlins, who proved himself one of the ablest speakers in the State. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- One of the ablest of the Church Fathers regretted his early education and said that it woul d have been better for him if he had never heard of Democritus. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Send with it Wright's best division or division under his ablest commander. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Holland, Germany, France, England and America have, through some of their ablest hydraulic engineers and inventors, produced most remarkable results in these various forms of pumps. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- I have said before that Hamer was one of the ablest men Ohio ever produced. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- In his death the army lost one of its ablest, purest and best generals. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Greece in the days of her glory greatly improved the art, and some of her ablest men wrote valuable treatises on its different topics. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The most careful attendance upon the ablest instructions of any private teacher cannot always give any title to demand them. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Typed by Alice