aptitude

American  

[ap-ti-tood, -tyood] / ˈæp tɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

noun

1. capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent.

   She has a special aptitude for mathematics.

   Synonyms:

   bent, propensity, proclivity, predisposition, faculty, gift

2. readiness or quickness in learning; intelligence.

   He was placed in honors classes because of his general aptitude.

   Synonyms:

   acumen

3. the state or quality of being apt; special fitness.

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aptitude British  

/ ˈæptɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. inherent or acquired ability

2. ease in learning or understanding; intelligence

3. the condition or quality of being apt

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Other Word Forms

• aptitudinal adjective
• aptitudinally adverb
• preaptitude noun

Etymology

Origin of aptitude

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin aptitūdō; apt, -i-, -tude

Example Sentences

Throughout his 20s he worked in jazz clubs, eventually opening a Tokyo bar and coffee shop despite lacking “the slightest aptitude for running a business.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The continent’s economic power, Germany, is building a database of young people, cataloging their fitness and aptitude to help it pick whom to draft should the country be attacked.

From The Wall Street Journal

The old have a clearer view of the inevitability of destruction and a willingness—though no real aptitude—to contemplate what might succeed it.

From The Wall Street Journal

The process would create a database of military-age Germans that details their physical and mental health, their skills and aptitudes, and their willingness to serve.

From The Wall Street Journal

There are jump cuts too, and interludes of his actors in close-up that could be color screen tests or just a nod to Hujar’s aptitude for portraits.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• competence
• flair
• knack
• proficiency
• savvy