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Synonyms of capacity

capability, competence, competency, faculty, might, compass, range, reach, scope, ample, capacious, copious

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capacity

8 dictionary results for: capacity

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·pac·i·ty

[kuh-pas-i-tee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -ties, adjective

–noun

1.	the ability to receive or contain: This hotel has a large capacity.

2.	the maximum amount or number that can be received or contained; cubic contents; volume: The inn is filled to capacity. The gasoline tank has a capacity of 20 gallons.

3.	power of receiving impressions, knowledge, etc.; mental ability: the capacity to learn calculus.

4.	actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand: He has a capacity for hard work. The capacity of the oil well was 150 barrels a day. She has the capacity to go two days without sleep.

5.	quality or state of being susceptible to a given treatment or action: Steel has a high capacity to withstand pressure.

6.	position; function; role: He served in the capacity of legal adviser.

7.	legal qualification.

Electricity.

a.	capacitance.

b.	maximum possible output.

–adjective

9.	reaching maximum capacity: a capacity audience; a capacity crowd.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME capacite < MF < L capācitāt- (s. of capācitās), equiv. to capāci-, s. of capāx roomy (cap(ere) to hold + -āci- adj. suffix) + -tāt- -ty²

]

—Synonyms 2. dimensions, amplitude. 3. endowment, talent, gifts. 4. aptitude, adequacy, competence, capability.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·pac·i·ty (kə-pās'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. ca·pac·i·ties

1. The ability to receive, hold, or absorb.
2. Abbr. c. A measure of this ability; volume.
3. Ability to perform or produce; capability.
4. The maximum or optimum amount that can be produced: factories operating below capacity.
The maximum amount that can be contained: a trunk filled to capacity.
1. Ability to perform or produce; capability.
2. The maximum or optimum amount that can be produced: factories operating below capacity.
The power to learn or retain knowledge; mental ability.
Innate potential for growth, development, or accomplishment; faculty. See Synonyms at ability.
The quality of being suitable for or receptive to specified treatment: the capacity of elastic to be stretched.
The position in which one functions; role: in your capacity as sales manager.
Legal qualification or authority: the capacity to make an arrest.
Electricity Capacitance.

adj. Filling a space with the most it can hold: a capacity crowd at the concert.

[Middle English capacite, from Old French, from Latin capācitās, from capāx, capāc-, spacious; see capacious.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
capacity

1480, from M.Fr. capacité, from L. capacitatem, from capax "able to hold much," from capere "to take" (see capable). Meaning "largest audience a place can hold" is 1908.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

capacity
noun
1.	capability to perform or produce; "among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism"; "limited runway capacity"; "a great capacity for growth" [ant: incapacity]
2.	the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment; "the capability of a metal to be fused" [syn: capability]
3.	the amount that can be contained; "the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons"
4.	the maximum production possible; "the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity"
5.	a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary"
6.	(computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive; "the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes"
7.	an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored [syn: capacitance]
8.	the power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior [ant: incapacity]
9.	tolerance for alcohol; "he had drunk beyond his capacity"

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

capacity ca·pac·i·ty (kə-pās'ĭ-tē)
n.

The measure of potential cubic contents of a cavity or receptacle; volume.
Ability to perform or produce; capability.

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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: ca·pac·i·ty
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 : a qualification, power, or ability (as to give consent or make a testament) created by operation of law
2 : an individual's ability or aptitude; especially : mental ability as it relates to responsibility for the commission of a crime (as murder) —see also DIMINISHED CAPACITY —compare COMPETENCY, INCAPACITY, INSANITY

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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

capacity communications
The maximum possible data transfer rate of a communications channel under ideal conditions. The total capacity of a channel may be shared between several independent data streams using some kind of multiplexing, in which case, each stream's data rate may be limited to a fixed fraction of the total capacity.
(2001-05-22)

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Capacity

Ca*pac"i*ty\, n.; pl. Capacities (-t[i^]z). [L. capacitus, fr. capax, capacis; fr. F. capacit['e]. See Capacious.]

1. The power of receiving or containing; extent of room or space; passive power; -- used in reference to physical things.

Had our great palace the capacity To camp this host, we all would sup together. --Shak.

The capacity of the exhausted cylinder. --Boyle.

2. The power of receiving and holding ideas, knowledge, etc.; the comprehensiveness of the mind; the receptive faculty; capability of undestanding or feeling.

Capacity is now properly limited to these [the mere passive operations of the mind]; its primary signification, which is literally room for, as well as its employment, favars this; although it can not be dented that there are examples of its usage in an active sense. --Sir W. Hamilton.

3. Ability; power pertaining to, or resulting from, the possession of strength, wealth, or talent; possibility of being or of doing.

The capacity of blessing the people. --Alex. Hamilton.

A cause with such capacities endued. --Blackmore.

4. Outward condition or circumstances; occupation; profession; character; position; as, to work in the capacity of a mason or a carpenter.

5. (Law) Legal or noral qualification, as of age, residence, character, etc., necessary for certain purposes, as for holding office, for marrying, for making contracts, will, etc.; legal power or right; competency.

Capacity for heat, the power of absorbing heat. Substances differ in the amount of heat requisite to raise them a given number of thermometric degrees, and this difference is the measure of, or depends upon, what is called their capacity for heat. See Specific heat, under Heat.

Syn: Ability; faculty; talent; capability; skill; efficiency; cleverness. See Ability.

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