capable

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkeɪ.bə.bəl/ UK /ˈkeɪ.pə.bəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #2226

Meanings

1

adj
Having the ability or qualities needed to do something well.

She is a capable and efficient manager.
2

adj
Having the power or ability to do a particular thing, followed by 'of'.

This little car is capable of surprising speed.
3

adj
Likely or able to do something bad, followed by 'of'.

No one believed that the gentle old man was capable of murder.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having the ability or... able

Opposites

incapable

Word family

Derived forms capability capableness capablyhandicapablenoncapableovercapablesupercapableultracapableuncapable

Related forms healthy skillful

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

capable administrator
a person with the skills needed to manage an organization effectively

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Capable was first recorded in the mid-16th century in the sense ‘able to take in’, physically or mentally. It comes from Latin capere ‘take or hold’.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French capable, from Late Latin capābilis.

*kap- Proto-Indo-European capable Middle French capābilis la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# capable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkeɪ.bə.bəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkeɪ.pə.bəl/
**Frequency rank:** 2226

## Meanings
1. Having the ability or qualities needed to do something well.
2. Having the power or ability to do a particular thing, followed by 'of'.
3. Likely or able to do something bad, followed by 'of'.

## Examples
- She is a capable and efficient manager.
- This little car is capable of surprising speed.
- No one believed that the gentle old man was capable of murder.

## Antonyms
- incapable

## Derived Forms
- capability
- capableness
- capably
- handicapable
- noncapable
- overcapable
- supercapable
- ultracapable
- uncapable

## Related Forms
- healthy
- skillful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kap-
- Root: capable
- Root: capābilis

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French capable, from Late Latin capābilis.

## AI Etymology
Capable was borrowed from Middle French capable, from Late Latin capābilis.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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