I. ˈābəl adjective
( abler -b(ə)lə(r) ; ablest -b(ə)lə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin habilis easily managed, apt, skillful, from habēre to have, hold — more at habit
1.
a. : possessed of needed powers (as intelligence or strength) or of needed resources (as means or influence) to accomplish an objective
able to solve a problem
able to buy a house
b. : designed, constructed, or naturally endowed with the power to perform a task or achieve an end
machines able to lift 10 tons
owls able to see in the dark
c. : having freedom from restriction or obligation or from conditions preventing an action
American women are able to vote
we were able to meet her at noon
d. : constituted or situated so as to be susceptible or readily subjected to some action or treatment
a shoe able to be repaired
a hill able to be climbed
2.
a. obsolete : having physical strength : robust
b. now dialect : well-to-do , rich
3. dialect : fit to cope with — usually used with for
able for four helpings of dessert
4. : marked by intelligence, knowledge, skill, or competence
an able and rapacious tyrant — H.O.Taylor
an able , moving, and fascinating portrait — B.D.Wolfe
5. : legally qualified : possessed of legal competence
able to inherit property
Synonyms:
capable , competent , qualified : placed after the noun modified, able is likely to indicate only the power, strength, skill, or resources needed for an indicated action
some day I would be like one of themselves, able to kill animals and catch fish — W.H.Hudson
Placed before the noun modified, it may suggest a combination of superior qualities, especially as demonstrated in practice
Cleveland was an able leader, honest, courageous … a fine exponent of Manchester liberalism — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
a priest … an able one, by all means, not only devoted, but resourceful and intelligent — Willa Cather
capable is commonly interchangeable with able in this sense. It is more likely than able to be used in situations involving possibilities and potentialities
democracy alone has constructed an unlimited civilization capable of infinite progress — F.D.Roosevelt
a being … more capable of feeling than even the most gifted of common men — Aldous Huxley
Often it suggests powers of adjustment, adaptability, or resourcefulness adequate for treating satisfactorily whatever matter is under consideration
it was impossible even to recall the house of mourning without a grateful memory of Louisa's capable dealing with funerals — Ellen Glasgow
only people who valued machines more than men were capable under these conditions of governing men to their profit and advantage — Lewis Mumford
competent suggests complete fitness for adequate performance
Tolstoy and Turgenev were quite competent in Russian, though they learned English, French, and German in infancy — Bertrand Russell
Sometimes the word connotes special professional or technical training
the associated workers must be competent scholars in language and palaeography — F.N.Robinson
Sometimes competent is used to suggest adequacy but to deny outstanding superiority and hence may be derogatory
the difference between a great dancer and a merely competent dancer is in the vital flame, that impersonal and … inhuman force which transpires between each of the great dancer's movements — T.S.Eliot
they were all competent practical mechanics, but Gay was an inspired mechanic — John Steinbeck
qualified suggests either adequate experience and knowledge, satisfactory special training, or formal certification as being especially trained
Poky … was … my guide … no mortal could be better qualified; his native country was not large, and he knew every inch of it — Herman Melville
being a qualified doctor, she knew all the facts of life — Upton Sinclair
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English ablen, from able, adjective
1. obsolete : to make capable : enable , strengthen
2. obsolete : to vouch for
III. ābəl
Usage: usually capitalized
— a communications code word for the letter a