Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

able

/ˈeɪ.bl̩/ adjective, verb, noun, proper noun

Also a form of can

Forms abler ablest ables abling abled hable

  1. adjective Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. “She is able to lift the box without assistance.”
  2. adjective Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from. “In a democratic world you'd be able to say what you thought wherever you were.”
  3. adjective Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence. “The chairman was also an able sailor.”
  4. adjective (law) Legally qualified or competent. “He is able to practice law in six states.”
  5. adjective (nautical) Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman.
  6. adjective (obsolete, dialectal) Having the physical strength; robust; healthy. “After the past week of forced marches, only half the men are fully able.”
  7. adjective (obsolete) Easy to use.
  8. adjective (obsolete) Suitable; competent.
  9. verb (transitive, obsolete) To make ready.
  10. verb (transitive, obsolete) To make capable; to enable.
  11. verb (transitive, obsolete) To dress.
  12. verb (transitive, obsolete) To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm.
  13. verb (transitive, obsolete) To vouch for; to guarantee.
  14. noun (military) The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.
  15. noun (World War II era, joint US/RAF) radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter A.
  16. proper noun A surname.

Synonyms

Alfa capable able-bodied

Antonyms

unable

Etymology

From Middle English able, from Old Northern French able, variant of Old French abile, habile, from Latin habilis (“easily managed, held, or handled; apt; skillful”). Doublet of habile.

From Middle English ablen, from Middle English able (adjective).

From the first letter of the word. Suggested in the 1916 United States Army Signal Book to distinguish the letter when communicating via telephone, and later adopted in other radio and telephone signal standards.

Webster’s 1913

  1. adjective Fit; adapted; suitable. [Obs.]
  2. adjective Having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object; possessed of qualifications rendering competent for some end; competent; qualified; capable; as, an able workman, soldier, seaman, a man able to work; a mind able to reason; a person able to be generous; able to endure pain; able to play on a piano.
  3. verb To make able; to enable; to strengthen. Chaucer.
  4. verb To vouch for. "I 'll able them." Shak.

Etymology [OF. habile, L. habilis that may be easily held or managed, apt, skillful, fr. habere to have, hold. Cf. Habile and see Habit.]

Etymology [See Able, a.]

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “able”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details

Sanskrit

Sanskrit dictionary entries whose meaning includes “able” (best matches first).

All 142 Sanskrit matches →