Definition of 'capable'
1. adjective
If a person or thing is capable of doing something, they have the ability to do it.
2. adjective
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
capable
Word Frequency
capable in British English
adjective
2. (postpositive; foll by of)
able or having the skill (to do something)
she is capable of hard work
3. (postpositive; foll by of)
having the temperament or inclination (to do something)
he seemed capable of murder
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
capableness (ˈcapableness) noun
capably (ˈcapably)
adverb
Word origin
C16: from French, from Late Latin capābilis able to take in, from Latin capere to take
Word Frequency
capable in American English
adjective
having ability; able to do things well; skilled; competent
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈable
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
capableness (ˈcapableness)
noun
capably (ˈcapably)
adverb
Word Frequency
capable in American English
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
capableness noun
capably
adverb
Word origin
[1555–65; ‹ LL capābilis roomy, appar. equiv. to cap(āx) roomy + -ābilis -able; see capacity]Examples of 'capable' in a sentence
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In other languages
capable
British English: capable
/ˈkeɪpəbl/ ADJECTIVE
If you are capable of doing something, you are able to do it.
He was hardly capable of standing up.
- American English: capable /ˈkeɪpəbəl/
- Arabic: قَادِر
- Brazilian Portuguese: capaz
- Chinese: 有能力的
- Croatian: sposoban
- Czech: schopný
- Danish: duelig
- Dutch: capabel
- European Spanish: capaz hazaña
- Finnish: pystyvä
- French: capable
- German: fähig
- Greek: ικανός
- Italian: capace
- Japanese: ・・・ができる
- Korean: ...할 능력이 있는
- Norwegian: dyktig
- Polish: zdolny
- European Portuguese: capaz
- Romanian: capabil
- Russian: способный
- Latin American Spanish: capaz
- Swedish: skicklig
- Thai: ที่สามารถทำได้
- Turkish: muktedir
- Ukrainian: здатний
- Vietnamese: có năng lực
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Definition of capable from the Collins English Dictionary
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