ca·pa·bil·i·ty

(kā′pə-bĭl′ĭ-tē)

n. pl. ca·pa·bil·i·ties

1. The quality of being capable; ability.

2. often capabilities A talent or ability that has potential for development or use: a student of great capabilities.

3. The capacity to be used, treated, or developed for a specific purpose: nuclear capability.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

capability

(ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. the quality of being capable; ability

2. the quality of being susceptible to the use or treatment indicated: the capability of a metal to be fused.

3. (usually plural) a characteristic that may be developed; potential aptitude

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ca•pa•bil•i•ty

(ˌkeɪ pəˈbɪl ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. the quality of being capable; capacity; ability.

2. the ability to undergo or be affected by a given treatment or action.

3. Usu., capabilities. qualities, abilities, features, etc., that can be used or developed; potential.

[1580–90]

capability

The ability to execute a specified course of action. (A capability may or may not be accompanied by an intention.)

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ability

– capability – capacity

Do not confuse ability with capability and capacity.

1. 'ability'

You often use ability to say that someone can do something well.

He had remarkable ability as a musician.

...the ability to bear hardship.

2. 'capability'

A person's capability is the amount of work they can do and how well they can do it.

...a job that was beyond the capability of one man.

...the director's ideas of the capability of the actor.

3. 'capacity'

If someone has a particular capacity, a capacity for something, or a capacity to do something, they have the qualities required to do it. Capacity is a more formal word than ability.

...their capacity for hard work.

...his capacity to see the other person's point of view.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	capability - the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally; "he worked to the limits of his capability" capableness associability, associableness - the capability of being easily associated or joined or connected in thought ability - the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment defensibility - capability of being defended; "they built their castles with an eye to their defensibility"; "client complaints create a felt need for the defensibility of individual actions" executability - capability of being executed; "the job is executable for two million dollars"; "this contract is not executable" capacity - capability to perform or produce; "among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism"; "limited runway capacity"; "a great capacity for growth" military capability, military posture, military strength, strength, posture - capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect the capacity to fight a war; "we faced an army of great strength"; "politicians have neglected our military posture" operating capability, performance capability - the capability of a technological system to perform as intended overkill - the capability to obliterate a target with more weapons (especially nuclear weapons) than are required incapability, incapableness - the quality of not being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally
	2.	capability - the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment; "the capability of a metal to be fused" capacity resistance - the capacity of an organism to defend itself against harmful environmental agents; "these trees are widely planted because of their resistance to salt and smog" susceptibility, susceptibleness - the state of being susceptible; easily affected activity - (chemistry) the capacity of a substance to take part in a chemical reaction; "catalytic activity"
	3.	capability - an aptitude that may be developed capableness, potentiality aptitude - inherent ability perfectibility - the capability of becoming perfect; "he believes in the ultimate perfectibility of man" grasp, compass, reach, range - the limit of capability; "within the compass of education" imperfectibility - the capability of becoming imperfect incapability, incapableness - lack of potential for development

capability

noun ability, means, power, potential, facility, capacity, qualification(s), faculty, competence, proficiency, wherewithal, potentiality These tasks are far beyond her capabilities.
inability, incompetence, inefficiency, ineptitude, powerlessness

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

capability

noun

Physical, mental, financial, or legal power to perform:

ability, capacity, competence, competency, faculty, might.

Translations

قدره، براعة، كفاءه

schopnostzpůsobilost

evnefærdighed

hæfileiki, færni

capabilitate

sposobnostzmožnost

kabiliyet yetenek

能力

capability

[ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪtɪ] N (= competence) → competencia f; (= potential ability) → capacidad f
to have the capability to do sth → ser capaz de hacer algo, tener capacidad para hacer algo
the capability for rational thought → la capacidad de raciocinio
within/beyond one's capabilities → dentro de/más allá de sus posibilidades
military/nuclear capability → potencial m militar/nuclear

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

capability

[ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪti] n

[person] → aptitude f, capacité f
to be beyond sb's capabilities → être au-dessus des capacités de qn
to be within sb's capabilities → être dans les capacités de qn

[society, country] → capacité f

capability

(= potential ability) → Fähigkeit f; (no pl: = capableness also) → Kompetenz f; something is within somebody’s capabilities → jd ist zu etw fähig; something is beyond somebody’s capabilities → etw übersteigt jds Fähigkeiten

(Mil) → Potenzial nt, → Potential nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

capability

[ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlətɪ] n (no pl, competence) → capacità, competenza, abilità; (potential ability) → possibilità f inv

capable

(ˈkeipəbl) adjective

1. clever especially in practical ways. She'll manage somehow – she's so capable!

2. (with of) clever enough to; likely to; able to. He is capable of doing better; He is quite capable of cheating us.

ˈcapably adverb

ˌcapaˈbility noun