Dictionary![]() ![]() a•blePronunciation: (ā'bul), [key] —adj., a•bler, a•blest, —n. —adj. 1. having necessary power, skill, resources, or qualifications; qualified: able to lift a two-hundred-pound weight; able to write music; able to travel widely; able to vote. 2. having unusual or superior intelligence, skill, etc.: an able leader. 3. showing talent, skill, or knowledge: an able speech. 4. legally empowered, qualified, or authorized. —n. (usually cap.) a code word formerly used in communications to represent the letter A. -ablea suffix meaning “capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to,” associated in meaning with the word able, occurring in loanwords from Latin (laudable); used in English as a highly productive suffix to form adjectives by addition to stems of any origin (teachable; photographable). Also,-ble,-ible. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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