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Ability vs Position - What's the difference?

ability | position | Related terms |

Ability is a related term of position.


As nouns the difference between ability and position

is that ability is (obsolete) suitableness while position is .

ability

English

Alternative forms

* (obsolete) hability

Noun

  • (obsolete) Suitableness.
  • (uncountable) The quality or state of being able; capacity to do; capacity of doing something; having the necessary power.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title=[http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jul/01/education-michael-gove-finland-gcse Finland spreads word on schools] , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
  • The legal wherewithal to act.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title=[http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21579860-g8-pledges-tackle-three-ts-t-time T time] , passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.}}
  • (archaic) Financial ability.
  • (uncountable) A unique power of the mind; a faculty.
  • * (rfdate) (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study -
  • (countable) A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude.
  • * (rfdate) (King James Bible) , (w) 11:29
  • Then the disciples, every man according to his ability , determined to send relief unto the brethren.
  • * (rfdate) (1800-1859)
  • The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph
  • , title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/8882713/England-Under-21-5-Iceland-Under-21-0-match-report.html England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report] , passage=The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.}}

    Usage notes

    * (skill or competence) Usually used in the plural. * Ability, capacity : these words come into comparison when applied to the higher intellectual powers. ** Ability has reference to the active'' exercise of our faculties. It implies not only native vigor of mind, but that ease and promptitude of execution which arise from mental training. Thus, we speak of the ''ability'' with which a book is written, an argument maintained, a negotiation carried on, etc. It always supposes something to be ''done'',George Crabb, 1826, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=YEgSAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13 English synonymes explained in alphabetical order]'', Collins & Hannay, page 13 and the power of ''doing it. ** Capacity has reference to the receptive'' powers. In its higher exercises it supposes great quickness of apprehension and breadth of intellect, with an uncommon aptitude for acquiring]] and retaining knowledge. Hence it carries with it the idea of ''resources'' and undeveloped power. Thus we speak of the extraordinary ''capacity'' of such men as , and [[w:Edmund Burke, Edmund Burke. "''Capacity''," says H. Taylor, "is requisite to devise, and ''ability to execute, a great enterprise." * The word abilities , in the plural, embraces both these qualities, and denotes high mental endowments.

    Synonyms

    * (quality or state of being able) capacity, faculty, capability * (a skill or competence) See * (high level of skill or capability) talent, cleverness, dexterity, aptitude * (suitability or receptiveness to be acted upon) capability, faculty, capacity, aptness, aptitude

    References

    position

    Noun

  • (en noun) (abbreviated as posish )
  • A place or location.
  • A post of employment; a job.
  • A status or rank.
  • Chief of Staff is the second-highest position in the army.
  • An opinion, stand or stance.
  • My position on this issue is unchanged.
  • A posture.
  • Stand in this position , with your arms at your side.
  • (team sports) A place on the playing field, together with a set of duties, assigned to a player.
  • Stop running all over the field and play your position !
  • (finance) An amount of securities or commodities held by a person, firm or institution.
  • Strong earnings have bolstered the company's financial position .
  • (arithmetic) A method of solving a problem by one or two suppositions; also called the rule of trial and error .
  • (chess) The full state of a chess game at any given turn.
  • Derived terms

    * anatomical position * assume the position * body position * bubble position * closed position * cowgirl position * developmental position * eccentric position * emergency position indicating radio beacon * fetal position * fielding position * Fowler's position * hinge position * human position * lithotomy position * long position * lotus position * midsinoary position * naked position * net position * neutral position * occlusal position * open position * overnight position * pole position * positional * position effect * position limit * position paper * position sense * position trader * position trading * preferred position * prone position * protrusive position * qualifying position * recovery position * reposition * sacroanterior position * sex position * short position * Sims' position * statutory position * take a position * Trendelenburg position * Yoga position

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To put into place.
  • * 26 June 2012 , Simon Bowers in The Guardian, Tax crackdowns threaten Channel Islands' haven status [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/26/tax-crackdowns-threaten-channel-islands]
  • While other small nations with large banking sectors, such as Iceland and Ireland, have been undone by their reckless lending practices, the debt-free Channel Islands have always positioned themselves as dependable repositories of riches.

    Synonyms

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    Statistics

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