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ability

/əˈbɪləti//əˈbɪlɪti/·noun
the skill, power, or means to actually do something
Fig. 1 — I watch a strong figure take a loaded bar from the rack and drive it straight up to a clean lockout overhead — arms steady, the weight held high — and a check mark blinks above it in approval before the bar comes down and goes up again.
01Definition

Ability is the power to actually do something — from the Latin habilitas, 'fitness, aptness'. It is the present, working skill itself: a child's ability to read, a team's ability to deliver, a material's ability to bend without snapping. The word looks to performance, to what gets done, rather than to the most that could be done at the outer limit — that is capacity. Someone adept at a task plainly has ability; whether they can also achieve it at scale is a separate question.

02In use
  • iHer ability to stay calm under pressure made her a natural leader.
  • iiThe new engine has the ability to switch fuels without stopping.
  • iiiReading widely will expand a student's ability to argue a case.
03Collocations
  • the ability to
  • natural ability
  • a proven ability
  • ability to cope
  • demonstrate ability

Family able (adjective) · ably (adverb) · enable (verb)

04Relations

=skill, capability, aptitude, competence, capacity

≠inability, incompetence

05Compared
PairThe difference
ability vs capacityability is the skill in action (what you can do); capacity is the upper limit (how much, at most).
06TOEFL & IELTS

One of the highest-frequency academic nouns, almost always followed by 'to' + verb ('the ability to adapt'). In Writing it is a precise upgrade from 'can'. Watch the overlap with capacity: ability is the skill to do something now, while capacity is the maximum amount possible. The adjective is able; the verb enable ('technology enables...') is very common in academic prose.

07Asked
Is it 'ability to' or 'ability of'?
Ability to + infinitive is the pattern: 'the ability to adapt', 'her ability to listen'. 'Ability of' only introduces whose ability it is — 'the ability of bees to navigate' — and even then the to-infinitive still follows. 'Ability of doing' is always wrong; if you want -ing, switch to 'capable of doing'.
What is the difference between ability and skill?
A skill is learned and specific — typing, negotiation, welding. Ability is broader: the present power to do something, whether trained or innate ('musical ability' can be raw talent). Capability leans further toward potential and resources — a factory's capability is what it could produce. Skill is acquired; ability is possessed; capability is projected.
What is the plural of ability, and is it countable?
The plural is abilities, and both countable and uncountable patterns are correct, with slightly different meanings. Countable abilities are the particular powers someone has ('a wide range of abilities'). Uncountable ability is the general quality ('a player of great ability'). Exams reward knowing the split: list someone's abilities, but praise their ability.
What is the difference between ability and capacity?
Ability is the working skill — the thing gets done; capacity is the maximum possible — how much could be done at the limit. In the scene above, the bar goes up cleanly every rep and a check mark approves each lift; nobody asks how much heavier the bar could get. That unasked question is capacity, and the full comparison lives on the ability vs capacity page in the 'Compared' list above.
What are the word forms of ability?
Able (adjective), ably (adverb), enable (verb) — and on the negative side, unable and inability ('the inability to focus'). Keep inability apart from disability: inability is simply not being able to do something; disability is a lasting physical or mental condition. Confusing the two in an essay reads as insensitive, not just imprecise.
Should I write 'can', 'be able to', or 'ability' in an essay?
All three are correct; the difference is register. Can and be able to state the plain fact ('workers can adapt'). The noun raises the register and makes the idea measurable — 'workers' ability to adapt' can be high, low, or declining, which is what essays need. Just don't stack such nouns ('the ability to enable the capacity...') or the sentence goes to mush.