-ability

English

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

-ability

/-əˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/ UK
/-əˈbɪl.ə.ti/ UK
/-əˈbɪl.ə.ti/ Australia, Canada, US
[-əˈbɪl.ə.ɾi] Australia, Canada, US

Where it comes from

From Middle English -ablete, -iblete, -abilite, -ibilite, from Middle French -ableté, -ibleté, -abilité, -ibilité, from Latin -abilitas, -ibilitas, from -abilis (“able”) or -ibilis (“able”) + -tas. Equivalent to -able + -ity. See ability.

suffix -abilities · -ibility

morpheme, uncountable, usually Forms a noun from a verb or an adjective by changing from -able; ability, inclination or suitability for a specified function or condition. cook + -ability → cookability

Translations

Every language

suffix forms a noun from a verb

Português	-abilidade
Français	-abilité
Deutsch	-barkeit
Română	-abilitate, -ibilitate

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"-ability." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-ability. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

-ability. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-ability

Chicago

"-ability." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-ability.

BibTeX

@misc{ability_2026,
  title = {-ability},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-ability},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}