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able is an adjective that usually comes after some form of be, ably is an adverb, ability is a noun:John is able to run fast.
What word is able?
1 : capable of, fit for, or worthy of (being so acted upon or toward) —chiefly in adjectives derived from verbs breakablecollectible. 2 : tending, given, or liable to agreeable perishable. Other Words from able Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About able.
What kind of verb is able?
Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because we sometimes use it instead of can and could.
Is the word allow an adjective?
Included below are past participle and present participle forms for the verbs allow and allowance which may be used as adjectives within certain contexts. Appropriate; satisfactory; acceptable. Intellectually admissible; valid; probable. Able to be added or deducted in consideration of something.
Is able a prefix?
The suffixes “-able” and “-ible” are both used to form adjectives meaning “possible, capable of, suitable for, or causing.” Of the two, “-able” is much more common: it is what’s known as a “living” or “productive” suffix, meaning that it is still being used to create new words.
30 related questions found
What is suffix of Ness?
-ness. a native English suffix attached to adjectives and participles, forming abstract nouns denoting quality and state (and often, by extension, something exemplifying a quality or state): darkness; goodness; kindness; obligingness; preparedness.
Is able a noun suffix?
-able, a suffix meaning «capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to,» associated in meaning with the word able, occurring in loanwords from Latin (laudable); used in English as a highly productive suffix to form adjectives by addition to stems of any origin (teachable; photographable).
Is allow a verb or noun?
allow verb (GIVE PERMISSION)
What is noun of allow?
allowance. The act of allowing, granting, conceding, or admitting. Acknowledgment. That which is allowed; a share or portion allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose; a stated quantity.
How do you use the verb allow?
to let someone or something do something; to let something happen or be done allow somebody to do something His parents won’t allow him to stay out late. He is not allowed to stay out late. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. allow something to do something He allowed his mind to wander.
What is the verb for orator?
To speak passionately; to preach for or against something.
Can able to grammar?
Can, could, and be able to are all used to talk about a person’s ability to do something. You use can or be able to to talk about ability in the present. Be able to is more formal than can. You can all read and write.
What is the verb for wide?
1[intransitive, transitive] to become wider; to make something wider synonym broaden Her eyes widened in surprise. widen into something Here the stream widens into a river. widen something They may have to widen the road to cope with the increase in traffic.
What is the verb of poor?
impoverish. (transitive) Make poor. (transitive) Weaken in quality; deprive of some strength or richness. (intransitive) Become poor.
What is the noun of famous?
One’s reputation. The state of being famous or well-known and spoken of.
What is the noun of attractive?
attract is a verb, attractive is an adjective, attraction is a noun:Magnets attract iron or steel. That actress is very attractive.
What is the verb of excellent?
excel. (transitive) To surpass someone or something; to be better or do better than someone or something. (intransitive) To be much better than others. (rare) To exceed, to go beyond.
Is laugh a noun or verb?
laugh (verb) laugh (noun) laughing gas (noun)
What kind of word is allow?
Archaic. to approve; sanction. to permit something to happen or to exist; admit (often followed by of): to spend more than one’s budget allows;a premise that allows of only one conclusion.
What is the noun of explain?
explanation. The act or process of explaining. Something that explains, makes understandable. A resolution of disputed points pursuant to discussion; a mutual clarification of disputed points; reconciliation.
What is the noun of angry?
angry is an adjective, anger is a noun, angrily is an adverb:They were very angry with you.
Can you say Allow to?
1: allow + to + infinitive: It allows to do something. 2: allow + verb+ -ing: It allows doing something. 3: allow + pronoun + to + infinitive: It allows me to do something. 4: allow + pronoun + verb+ -ing: It allows me doing something.
What is the example of suffix?
A suffix is a letter or group of letters, for example ‘-ly’ or ‘- ness’, which is added to the end of a word in order to form a different word, often of a different word class. For example, the suffix ‘-ly’ is added to ‘ quick’ to form ‘quickly’. Compare affix and , prefix.
What is the noun of intelligent?
Option ‘c’ is the correct option because the noun form of ‘intelligent’ is ‘intelligence‘. And it is the only option which has ‘intelligence’.
Adjective
He will buy a new car as soon as he is able.
He turned out to be an able editor.
She is one of the ablest lawyers in the firm.
Recent Examples on the Web
Or questions about Alabama that data may be able to answer?
—
Ramsey Archibald | Rarchibald@al.com, al, 9 Apr. 2023
And, it should be said, there has long been debate over how accurately IQ tests are able to gauge overall intelligence and potential for success in society in the first place.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 9 Apr. 2023
For the new series, technology had evolved where the show’s makers were able to use 3D printing to offer flexibility and lightness.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2023
Clients of ample means are able to pay for in-home or residential facility care that can easily cost $10,000 to $15,000 a month.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2023
This is, after all, the first time investors have been able to cash out staked ETH for actual ETH.
—Robert Stevens, Fortune Crypto, 8 Apr. 2023
Organizers say at least 600,000 people will be able to attend this opening ceremony — ten times more than in an Olympic stadium — and tickets won’t be necessary to view the spectacle from higher levels.
—Catherine Garcia, The Week, 8 Apr. 2023
Some Democrats were also unsuccessful in amending the bill, including Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City), who pushed for those who were previously incarcerated for drugs to be able to participate in the market.
—Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2023
That said, being able to try swimwear on in the comfort of your home can make things a *lot* easier.
—Neha Tandon, womenshealthmag.com, 8 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘able.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Other forms: ablest; abler
If you’re able to juggle, you’ll go far in life. To be able is to have the skill, knowledge, or permission to do something.
Able is an adjective that describes the ability to do a particular thing, like your friend who’s able to ride a motorcycle and your dog that’s able to roll over on command. It can also mean very skilled or capable, as when you describe your sister as an able tap dancer. Able comes from the Latin word habilis, «easily handled or apt.» The h is silent in Latin, which led to it being dropped from the English able.
Definitions of able
-
adjective
(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”
see moresee less-
Antonyms:
-
unable
(usually followed by `to’) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how
-
unable
-
adjective
have the skills and qualifications to do things well
“able teachers”
-
synonyms:
capable
-
competent
properly or sufficiently qualified or capable or efficient
-
competent
-
adjective
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”-
Synonyms:
-
capable
(usually followed by `of’) having capacity or ability
-
capable
-
adjective
having a strong healthy body
“an
able seaman”“every
able-bodied young man served in the army”-
synonyms:
able-bodied
-
fit
physically and mentally sound or healthy
-
fit
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘able’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- -ible (not productive)
Etymology[edit]
- From Middle English -able, borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis, from -a- or -i- + -bilis (“capable or worthy of being acted upon”), from Proto-Indo-European i-stem form *-dʰli- of *-dʰlom (“instrumental suffix”).
- Not closely related etymologically, though currently related semantically, to able.
- Displaced native Old English -endlīc.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (US) IPA(key): /ə.bl̩/
-
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Suffix[edit]
-able
- An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning:
- Able to be done; fit to be done.
- movable: able to be moved
- amendable: able to be amended
- breakable: liable to broken
- blamable: fit to be blamed
- salable: fit to be sold
- Relevant to or suitable to, in accordance with.
- fashionable: relevant to fashion
- seasonable: suitable to season
- Giving, or inclined to.
- pleasurable: giving pleasure
- peaceable: inclined to peace
- Subject to.
- reportable: subject to be reported
- taxable: subject to be taxed
- Due to be.
- payable: due to pay
- Able to be done; fit to be done.
Usage notes[edit]
- Originally appeared only on French and Latin words, like separable. Over time -able was added to stems of English verbs ending in -ate, such as educable. Finally, due to probable confusion with the word able, it was used to form adjectives from all sorts of verbs, nouns, and even verb phrases, such as kickable, get-at-able, and hittable.
- A terminal silent -e is often dropped when adding -able, but for roots ending with a soft -ce or -ge, such as replaceable and changeable, the -e is kept so that these are not misinterpreted as hard ‘c’ or ‘g’ sounds. Similar spelling patterns apply to some other suffixes beginning with a vowel, such as -ous in famous vs. courageous.
- The final consonant of a root is doubled in the same contexts as when adding the suffix -ed. In general, this means doubling occurs when the preceding vowel is short and stressed (as in winnable) but not when it is long (as in obtainable) or unstressed (as in openable). In British English, a final L is typically doubled after a short vowel regardless of whether the vowel is stressed or unstressed (as in compellable, modellable). In American English, final L typically follows the same rules as other consonants (as in compellable, modelable). These are the general trends, but there is some variation within British and American English between these two methods of doubling final L.
- The form -ible has the same senses and pronunciation. The choice between the two is somewhat idiosyncratic, but in general, -ible is used in forms derived from Latin verbs of the second, third, and fourth conjugations, and in a few words whose roots end in a soft c or g, while -able is used in all other words, particularly those formed from Latin verbs of the first conjugation and those that come from French or from Anglo-Saxon (Old English). Fowler’s English Usage recommends using -ible for simplicity’s sake in any word whose root ends in a soft c or g to avoid -eable (e.g., *changible rather than changeable), but this recommendation has generally not been followed.
- A number of adjectives in -able come from verbs that do not have direct objects, but that rather are construed with prepositions. In these cases, the preposition does not appear with the adjective in -able; hence, reliable (“fit to being relied on”), laughable (“suited for laughing at”), remarkable (“fit to be remarked upon”), and so on.
- Traditionally, verbs ending in -ate drop this suffix before adding -able; hence, communicable (“able to be communicated”), eradicable (“possible to eradicate”), implacable (“unable to be placated”), inimitable (“unable to imitate”), and so on, but relatable, because relate is re- + -late, not rel- + -ate. Logically one should therefore say rotable to mean «able to be rotated», but rotatable has become accepted.
- There are cases where a word with un- -able is much more common than one with just -able, such as unbreakable, unsinkable, and untouchable.
Derived terms[edit]
[edit]
- able
- ability
- -ability
- -worthy
Translations[edit]
able to be done
- Armenian: -ի (-i)
- Catalan: -able, -ible
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: -得 (yue) (-dak1)
- Mandarin: 可- (zh)
- Cornish: -adow
- Czech: -elný
- Danish: -bar
- Dutch: -baar (nl), -abel (nl) (for words from Latin or Romance languages)
- Esperanto: -ebla (eo)
- Finnish: -tava, -tävä
- French: -able (fr), -ible (fr)
- Galician: -able, -ábel
- Georgian: -ადი (-adi)
- German: -bar (de), -abel (de) (for words from Latin or Romance languages)
- Hindi: योग्य (hi) (yogya)
- Hungarian: -ható, -hető
- Ido: -ebla
- Interlingua: -abile, -ibile
- Italian: -abile, -ibile, -evole
- Japanese: -られる (ja) (-rareru)
- Latin: -ābilis
- Low German:
- German Low German: -bor (nds)
- Malayalam: -ആവുന്ന (-āvunna)
- Middle English: -able
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: -abel (no), -bar (no)
- Old Saxon: -bar
- Persian: -پذیر (fa)
- Polish: -alny, -elny
- Portuguese: -ável, -ível
- Romanian: -bil
- Russian: -я́емый (-jájemyj), -а́емый (-ájemyj), -и́мый (-ímyj)
- Spanish: -able (es), -ible (es)
- Swedish: -bar (sv), -abel (sv)
- Turkish: -bilir
- Welsh: -adwy (cy)
fit to be done
- Dutch: -baar (nl)
- Finnish: -kelpoinen, -tava, -tävä
- Japanese: -られる (ja) (-rareru)
- Manx: yn-
- Middle English: -able
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: -abel (no)
- Portuguese: -ável, -ível
- Swedish: -abel (sv)
Translations to be checked
- Dutch: (before the infinitive) te (nl) (5)
- Esperanto: (please verify) -ebla (eo)
- German: (please verify) -bar (de)
- Italian: (please verify) -abile, (please verify) -ibile
- Latin: (please verify) -abilis, (please verify) -ibilis
- Macedonian: (please verify) -лив (-liv) (-liv)
- Romanian: (please verify) -bil
- Welsh: (please verify) -adwy (cy)
- West Frisian: (please verify) -ber
Anagrams[edit]
- Abel, Bale, Beal, Blea, Ebla, Elba, albe, bael, bale, beal, blea
Catalan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin -ābilis.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /ˈ-a.blə/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈ-a.ble/
Suffix[edit]
-able (masculine and feminine plural -ables)
- -able
Usage notes[edit]
This suffix is used for verbs of the first conjugation, which end in -ar and are the most common. For other verbs, the suffix is -ible.
Derived terms[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French -able, from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /abl/
Suffix[edit]
-able (plural -ables)
- -able
Derived terms[edit]
Galician[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- -ábel
Etymology[edit]
From Latin -ābilis.
Suffix[edit]
-able
- -able
Derived terms[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- -abell, -abil, -abile, -abill, -abul, -abull, -abyl, -abyll
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /-ˈaːbəl/, /-ˈaːblə/
Suffix[edit]
-able
- Forming adjectives denoting ability, relevance or inclination; -able.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- English: -able
- Scots: -able
References[edit]
- “-āble, adj. suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Middle French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis.
Suffix[edit]
-able (plural -ables)
- -able
Descendants[edit]
- French: -able
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- -abel
- -abelt
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ˈɑːblə/
- Rhymes: -ɑːblə
- Hyphenation: ab‧le
Suffix[edit]
-able
- singular definite & plural form of -abel
Anagrams[edit]
- bale, bela
Old French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin -ābilis.
Suffix[edit]
-able (plural -ables)
- worthy of, deserving of
- honorer (“to honor”) + -able → honnorable (“honorable”)
- -ing, creating an effect, an influence
- forsener (“to become insane or enraged”) + -able → forsenable (“maddening”)
Descendants[edit]
- Middle French: -able
- French: -able
- → Middle English: -able
- English: -able
- Scots: -able
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Spanish, from Latin -ābilis.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ˈable/ [ˈa.β̞le]
- Rhymes: -able
- Syllabification: -a‧ble
Suffix[edit]
-able (plural -ables)
- -able
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “-able”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
в состоянии, способный, умеющий, могущий, умелый, талантливый, компетентный, знающий
прилагательное ↓
- способный, обладающий способностью
to be able to … — мочь …, быть в состоянии /в силах/ … 
the baby is able to walk already — ребёнок уже научился ходить
as I had money I was able to help her — у меня были деньги, и я имел возможность ей помочь
shall /will/ you be able to come? — вы сможете прийти?
you are better able to do it than I am — у вас это лучше получится, чем у меня
able to pay — платёжеспособный
as one is able — по мере сил
- крепкий, здоровый; годный
he is old but still quite able — он стар, по ещё крепок
able to perform military service — годный к военной службе
- способный, талантливый
able actor — способный актёр
able speech — талантливая речь
he is the most able /the ablest/ man I know — он самый способный /умный/ человек из всех, кого я знаю
- компетентный, квалифицированный, умелый
able lawyer — знающий адвокат
able direction — компетентное руководство
- юр. компетентный, правоспособный
able in mind — (находящийся) в здравом рассудке
- мор. обладающий хорошими мореходными качествами
able rating — мор. матрос (в ВМС)
Мои примеры
Словосочетания
one of my more able students — один из моих наиболее способных учеников
insofar as I am able — насколько я могу
not be able to see beyond (the end of) one’s nose — не видеть дальше своего носа
not to be able to hit a barn door — быть очень плохим стрелком
able to perform a contract — способный выполнить договор
able to supply — способный обеспечить поставку
able to meet competition — конкурентоспособный
to be able to hold one’s drink — уметь пить (не пьянея)
able to take 12 tricks — способный взять 12 взяток
to be able to bonify evils — уметь обращать зло в добро
are you able to come? — ты можешь прийти?
Примеры с переводом
Superman is able to leap tall buildings
Супермен способен перепрыгивать высокие здания.
He will buy a new car as soon as he is able.
Он купит новый автомобиль, как только появится возможность.
Human beings are able to walk on two feet.
Люди способны ходить на двух ногах.
He turned out to be an able editor.
Он оказался талантливым редактором.
Robinson was an able engineer and administrator.
Робинсон был квалифицированным инженером и администратором.
She is one of the ablest lawyers in the firm.
Она является одним из самых талантливых юристов в фирме.
I had never really been able to believe that someone might want to kill me.
Я так и не смог поверить, что кто-то может иметь желание убить меня.
Every able-bodied young man served in the army.
Все крепкие молодые люди служили в армии.
Mike was by no means so able a boxer as his opponent.
Майк был отнюдь не таким умелым боксёром, как его соперник.
Children as young as 14 can be extremely capable and dependable.
Четырнадцатилетние дети порой чрезвычайно умны и надёжны.
Возможные однокоренные слова
disable — запрещать, калечить, делать неспособным, лишать права, делать непригодным
enable — разрешать, давать возможность, облегчать, делать возможным
unable — неспособный
ablate — ампутировать, отсекать, авиа, подвергаться абляции
Формы слова
adjective
срав. степ. (comparative): abler
прев. степ. (superlative): ablest