Dictionary

able-bodied en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈeɪ.bl̩ˌbɑ.did/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From able body + -ed.

Meanings

1. Having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust; fit for service.
   • A servant determinately idle, leaving his work, or an able-bodied vagrant, roaming the country without means of honest self-support and without seeking employment, was to be brought before the two nearest magistrates. 1893, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada:
   • It’s little wonder that Spanish invaders, led by Hernán Cortés, so easily conquered the Aztecs. By the time they arrived, most of the able-bodied men were dead either from having their hearts yanked out or falling off the pyramid. 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 48:
2. Not disabled; having no physical disability.
   • Unfair discrimination between the able-bodied and the disabled is illegal in many places.
3. Capable of performing all requisite duties as a seaman, specifically in the Royal Navy, a rating between leading and ordinary.

Forms

Antonyms

disabled

Deriveds

able-bodiedism · able-bodiedness · non-able-bodied · able-bodied seaman · temporarily able-bodied

Relateds

ableism

Synonyms

abled · enabled

Translations (30)

nl valide (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · nl bevaren ((Nautical)) · nl robust (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fr solide (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · mi mārohirohi (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · nl volwaardig (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fi työkykyinen (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · da arbejdsfør (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · ca apte per al servei (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fi kenttäkelpoinen (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · es sin discapacidad (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · pt capaz (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · sh krepak (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · pt pessoa sem deficiência (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fi kynnelle kykenevä (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · pt não-deficiente (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · sh jak (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · sh čio (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · mi mārōrō (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fi terve (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · mi marohi (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · pt robusto (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · nl lichamelijk geschikt (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · nl volslagen ((Nautical)) · ga infheidhme (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fr robuste (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fi palveluskelpoinen (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · ca robust (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · sv arbetsför (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust) · fr bon pour le servic (having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust)