Ability vs Quality - What's the difference?
ability | quality |
(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)
(countable) A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude.
* (rfdate) (King James Bible) , (w) 11:29
* (rfdate) (1800-1859)
* {{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.}}
(uncountable) Level of excellence
*
(countable) A property or an attribute that differentiates a thing or person.
*
(archaic) High social position. (See also the quality.)
(uncountable) The degree to which a man-made object or system is free from bugs and flaws, as opposed to scope of functions or quantity of items.
(thermodynamics) In a two-phase liquid–vapor mixture, the ratio of the mass of vapor present to the total mass of the mixture.
(emergency medicine, countable) The third step in OPQRST where the responder investigates what the NOI/MOI feels like.
Being of good worth, well made, fit for purpose.
* Harriet (a Cambridge University student), quoted in John Ahier, John Beck, Rob Moore, Graduate Citizens?: Issues of Citizenship and Higher Education , Routledge (2003), ISBN 978-0-415-25722-0,
* 2004 , Vance M. Thompson, MD, in J. Kevin Belville and Ronald J. Smith (editors), LASIK Techniques: Pearls and Pitfalls , SLACK Incorporated, ISBN 978-1-55642-622-3,
* 2008 , Carl Erskine, in Fay Vincent, We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved , Simon and Schuster, ISBN 978-1-4165-5342-7,
In uncountable terms the difference between ability and quality
is that ability is a unique power of the mind; a faculty while quality is the degree to which a man-made object or system is free from bugs and flaws, as opposed to scope of functions or quantity of items.In archaic terms the difference between ability and quality
is that ability is financial ability while quality is high social position. (See also {{term|the quality|lang=en}}..In countable terms the difference between ability and quality
is that ability is a skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude while quality is a property or an attribute that differentiates a thing or person.As nouns the difference between ability and quality
is that ability is suitableness while quality is level of excellence.As an adjective quality is
being of good worth, well made, fit for purpose.ability
English
Alternative forms
* (obsolete) habilityNoun
- Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study -
- Then the disciples, every man according to his ability , determined to send relief unto the brethren.
- The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability
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, aptitudeExternal links
* *References
quality
English
Noun
- This school is well-known for having teachers of high quality .
- Quality of life is usually determined by health, education, and income.
- One of the qualities of pure iron is that it does not rust easily.
- While being impulsive can be great for artists, it is not a desirable quality for engineers.
- Security, stability, and efficiency are good qualities of an operating system.
- A peasant is not allowed to fall in love with a lady of quality .
- Membership of this golf club is limited to those of quality and wealth.
- To identify quality try asking, "what does it feel like?".
Usage notes
* Adjectives often applied to "quality": high, good, excellent, exceptional, great, outstanding, satisfactory, acceptable, sufficient, adequate, poor, low, bad, inferior, dubious, environmental, visual, optical, industrial, total, artistic, educational, physical, musical, chemical, spiritual, intellectual, architectural, mechanical.Synonyms
* See alsoCoordinate terms
* (a property that differentiates) quiddityDerived terms
(quality) * human quality * industrial quality * quality time * quality of life * the quality, the Quality * total quality management * qualitativeAdjective
(en adjective)- We only sell quality products.
- That was a quality game by Jim Smith.
- A quality system ensures products meet customer requirements.
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- I mean a lot of the money that obviously goes into universities and their libraries and their facilities and their academics and stuff but I mean I haven’t had a very quality degree to be honest. I think the quality of my education has been crap . . .
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- For one I wanted to have what I considered a very quality tracking device.
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- A very quality ball club; that was the Braves.