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ability - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | ability |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | power to act, perform |
| Synonyms: | aptitude, capability, capacity, competence, comprehension, dexterity, endowment, facility, faculty, intelligence, might, qualification, skill, strength, talent, understanding, competency, potentiality, resourcefulness |
| Notes: | applied to a person, ability and capacity mean about the same thing but are grammatically different: an ability to do something, a capacity for doing something; ability is qualitative while capacity is quantitative |
| Antonyms: | impotence, inability, limitation, paralysis |
| Main Entry: | ability |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | natural or acquired power in a |
| Synonyms: | adroitness, bent, capability, cleverness, command, craft, expertise, finesse, flair, genius, gift, ingenuity, knack, know-how, mastery, proficiency, savvy, skill, strength, talent, deftness, expertness, handiness, mind for, particular activity adeptness, skillfulness, the goods, the right stuff, what it takes |
| Antonyms: | clumsiness, ignorance, inability, inadequacy, inanity, incompetence, stupidity, weakness |
| Main Entry: | accomplishment |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | something successfully done, completed |
| Synonyms: | ability, achievement, act, art, attainment, capability, completion, conclusion, consummation, coup, deed, effort, execution, exploit, feat, finish, fulfillment, performance, production, proficiency, realization, skill, stroke, talent, triumph, bringing about, carrying out, effecting |
| Antonyms: | defeat, failure, frustration, nullification |
| Main Entry: | artistry |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | great skill in creative endeavors |
| Synonyms: | ability, accomplishment, creativity, finesse, flair, genius, mastery, proficiency, style, talent, taste, touch, workmanship, artfulness, brilliance, craftship, virtuosity |
| Antonyms: | inability, incapacity, ineptitude |
| Main Entry: | bent |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | inclination; talent |
| Synonyms: | ability, aim, aptitude, bag*, disposition, facility, faculty, flair, forte, genius, gift, knack, leaning, mind-set*, nose, penchant, predilection, predisposition, preference, proclivity, propensity, set, tack, tendency, tilt, turn, druthers, head-set, inclining, thing for, weakness for |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | cleverness |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | brightness, ingenuity |
| Synonyms: | ability, adroitness, astuteness, calculation, dexterity, discernment, flair, gift, gumption, intelligence, quickness, sagacity, sense, shrewdness, skill, talent, wisdom, wit, brains, canniness, quick wit, resourcefulness, sharpness, smartness |
| Antonyms: | foolishness, ignorance, stupidity, naievety, senselessness |
| Main Entry: | efficacy |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | efficiency; productiveness |
| Synonyms: | ability, adequacy, capability, capacity, competence, effect, effectiveness, energy, force, influence, performance, potency, power, strength, success, sufficiency, use, vigor, virtue, weight, capableness, efficaciousness |
| Antonyms: | failure, inefficiency, weakness, inefficacy, unproductiveness, uselessness |
| Main Entry: | efficiency |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | adeptness, effectiveness |
| Synonyms: | ability, abundance, adaptability, address, adequacy, capability, competence, completeness, economy, efficacy, energy, expertise, facility, faculty, know-how, performance, potency, power, productivity, proficiency, prowess, quantity, readiness, response, skill, suitability, talent, capableness, competency, effectualness, powerfulness, productiveness, resourcefulness, skillfulness, suitableness, thoroughness |
| Antonyms: | helplessness, impotence, inability, incompetence, inefficiency, weakness, ineffectiveness |
| Main Entry: | eloquence |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | skillful way with words |
| Synonyms: | ability, appeal, articulation, delivery, diction, dramatic, expression, facility, fervor, flow, fluency, force, gift of gab*, loquacity, oration, oratory, passion, persuasiveness, poise, power, rhetoric, spirit, style, vigor, vivacity, wit, command of language, expressiveness, expressivity, forcefulness, grandiloquence, meaningfulness, mellifluousness, volubility, wittiness |
| Antonyms: | dullness, inarticulateness |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | expertise/expertness |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | knowledge, proficiency |
| Synonyms: | ability, ableness, adroitness, aptness, art, cleverness, command, competence, craft, cunning, deftness, dexterity, dodge*, facility, finesse, goods*, ingeniousness, judgment, knack*, know-how*, line*, makings, oil*, one's thing, prowess, readiness, savvy, sharpness, skill, skillfulness, stuff* |
| Antonyms: | ignorance, inexpertness, lack |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | flair |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | talent, style |
| Synonyms: | ability, accomplishment, aptitude, bent, chic, dash, elegance, faculty, feel, genius, gift, glamour, head, knack, mastery, panache, pizzazz*, presence, shine*, splash*, taste, turn, zip*, aptness |
| Antonyms: | inability, incapacity, ineptitude, ineptness |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | forte |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person's strong point |
| Synonyms: | ability, aptitude, competence, effectiveness, efficiency, faculty, gift*, long suit*, métier, medium, strength, strong suit*, talent, thing*, ableness, eminency, oyster*, speciality |
| Antonyms: | weakness |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | genius |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | gift of high intellect |
| Synonyms: | ability, accomplishment, acumen, acuteness, adept, aptitude, astuteness, bent, brain, capability, capacity, creativity, discernment, endowment, expert, faculty, flair, grasp, head, imagination, inclination, ingenuity, inspiration, intelligence, knack, mature, originality, perspicacity, power, prodigy, propensity, prowess, reach, sagacity, talent, turn, understanding, virtuoso, wisdom, Einstein, aptness, brilliance, inventiveness, percipience, precocity, superability |
| Antonyms: | idiot, imbecile |
| Main Entry: | gumption |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | nerve, initiative |
| Synonyms: | ability, acumen, astuteness, cleverness, discernment, enterprise, horse sense*, industry, judgment, perspicacity, sagacity, savvy, sense, shrewdness, spirit, wisdom, wit, commonsense, get-up-and-go, good sense, perspicaciousness, resourcefulness, sagaciousness |
| Antonyms: | cowardice, naivety |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | independence |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | liberty, freedom |
| Synonyms: | ability, aptitude, autonomy, home rule, license, qualification, self-sufficiency, separation, sovereignty, autarchy, self-determination, self-government, self-reliance, self-rule |
| Antonyms: | subordination, dependence |
| Main Entry: | ingenuity |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | cleverness |
| Synonyms: | ability, adroitness, astuteness, brightness, creativity, cunning, dexterity, flair, genius, gumption, intelligence, shrewdness, skill, talent, wisdom, wit, brains, brilliance, inventiveness, resourcefulness, smartness |
| Main Entry: | intellect |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | capability of the mind; someone with capable mind |
| Synonyms: | ability, acumen, comprehension, egghead*, genius, intellectual, intelligence, intuition, judgment, mentality, mind, psyche, pundit, reason, savvy, sense, smarts, thinker, understanding, brains, cerebration, intellectuality, what it takes, wits |
| Antonyms: | ignorance |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | know-how |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | skill, talent |
| Synonyms: | ability, adroitness, aptitude, art, background, capability, command, craft, cunning, dexterity, experience, expertise, faculty, flair, ingenuity, knack, knowledge, proficiency, savoir-faire, wisdom, expertness |
| Antonyms: | ignorance, lack, want |
| Main Entry: | knowledge |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person's understanding; information |
| Synonyms: | ability, acquaintance, apprehension, awareness, cognition, comprehension, consciousness, dirt*, discernment, doctrine, dogma, dope*, education, enlightenment, erudition, expertise, facts, familiarity, goods*, grasp, insight, instruction, intelligence, judgment, know-how*, learning, light*, lore, observation, philosophy, picture, power*, proficiency, recognition, scholarship, science, scoop*, substance, theory, tuition, wisdom, accomplishments, attainments, inside story, principles, schooling |
| Antonyms: | ignorance |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | mastery |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | command, expertise |
| Synonyms: | ability, adroitness, attainment, capacity, cleverness, comprehension, cunning, dexterity, familiarity, finesse, genius, grasp, grip, ken, knack, know-how, knowledge, power, proficiency, prowess, skill, understanding, acquirement, adeptness, deftness, expertism, expertness, mastership, virtuosity, wizardry |
| Antonyms: | failure, inefficiency, lack, amateurishness |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.