CAPABILITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does capability mean? 

• CAPABILITY (noun)
  The noun CAPABILITY has 3 senses:

1. the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally

2. the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment

3. an aptitude that may be developed

  Familiarity information: CAPABILITY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CAPABILITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

capability; capableness

Context example:

he worked to the limits of his capability

Hypernyms ("capability" is a kind of...):

ability (the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment)

Attribute:

incapable ((followed by 'of') lacking capacity or ability)

capable ((usually followed by 'of') having capacity or ability)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capability"):

associability; associableness (the capability of being easily associated or joined or connected in thought)

defensibility (capability of being defended)

executability (capability of being executed)

capacity (capability to perform or produce)

military capability; military posture; military strength; posture; strength (capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect the capacity to fight a war)

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)

Antonym:

incapability (the quality of not being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally)

Derivation:

capable ((usually followed by 'of') having capacity or ability)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The susceptibility of something to a particular treatment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

capability; capacity

Context example:

the capability of a metal to be fused

Hypernyms ("capability" is a kind of...):

susceptibility; susceptibleness (the state of being susceptible; easily affected)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capability"):

resistance (the capacity of an organism to defend itself against harmful environmental agents)

activity ((chemistry) the capacity of a substance to take part in a chemical reaction)

Derivation:

capable (possibly accepting or permitting)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An aptitude that may be developed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

capability; capableness; potentiality

Hypernyms ("capability" is a kind of...):

aptitude (inherent ability)

Attribute:

capable ((usually followed by 'of') having capacity or ability)

incapable ((followed by 'of') lacking capacity or ability)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capability"):

perfectibility (the capability of becoming perfect)

compass; grasp; range; reach (the limit of capability)

imperfectibility (the capability of becoming imperfect)

Antonym:

incapability (lack of potential for development)

Derivation:

capable (have the skills and qualifications to do things well)

 Context examples 

Overexpression of MDM2 can result in excessive inactivation of tumor protein p53 and diminish its tumor suppressor capability.

(MDM2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

A centrifugation technique that utilizes photographic capability to determine the time it takes a particle to travel through a centrifuge cell under standard conditions.

(Analytical Centrifugation, NCI Thesaurus)

During the test, the subject inspires a gas containing CO and one or more tracer gases to allow determination of the gas exchanging capability of the lungs.

(Carbon Monoxide Diffusing Capability Test, NCI Thesaurus)

The overall goal is to increase the effectiveness, capabilities, or productivity of current projects; to stimulate cooperative approaches; and/or to promote new research directions through multi-disciplinary or regional collaborations.

(Center Core Grants, NCI Thesaurus)

A group formed to undertake a venture that is beyond the capabilities of the individual members.

(Consortium, NCI Thesaurus)

Therefore, alphaDC1 has a much more significant capability of inducing helper T cell (CD4+ T-cell) responses in comparison with the "gold standard" DCs.

(Alpha-type-1 Polarized Dendritic Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

Virtual reality in Medical Imaging is the technique of combining 3D DICOM image data sets produced by medical imaging equipment with extremely high-powered computer capabilities.

(Medical Imaging, Virtual Reality, NCI Thesaurus)

NuSTAR complements Chandra and XMM-Newton in its capability to detect higher-energy range of X-rays that can, in fact, penetrate through this intervening gas.

(Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays, NASA)

A category of disorders characterized by an impairment in the development of an individual's language capabilities, which is in contrast to his/her non-verbal intellect.

(Language Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

ALMA’s capabilities allowed both teams to observe the molecule at several different and characteristic wavelengths across the radio spectrum.

(ALMA Finds Ingredient of Life Around Infant Sun-like Stars, ESO)