faculty
noun
fac·ul·ty ˈfa-kəl-tē 
plural faculties
1
: ability, power: such as
a
: innate or acquired ability to act or do
man … how infinite in faculty
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare b
: an inherent capability, power, or function
the faculty of hearing
c
: any of the powers of the mind (such as will, reason, or instinct) formerly held by psychologists to form a basis for the explanation of all mental phenomena
d
: natural aptitude
has a faculty for saying the right things
2
a
: a branch of teaching or learning (such as law, medicine, or liberal arts) in an educational institution
b
archaic : something in which one is trained or qualified
3
a
: the members of a profession
b
: the teaching and administrative staff and those members of the administration having academic rank in an educational institution
an excellent mathematics faculty
c
faculty plural : faculty members
many faculty were present
4
: power, authority, or prerogative given or conferred
The state has the faculty to define treason.
Synonyms
- power
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She's a member of the Harvard faculty. The school hired more faculty. a meeting with students and faculty She has a faculty for making friends. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Recent Examples on the Web The two sides had been split over salary increases and how much faculty members should pay for health care. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 14 Sep. 2022 There were only 12 Black faculty members out of 456 and six administrators from a field of 95. Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2022 The university will spend about $4 million at first to immediately hire 27 faculty members to expand its traditional and accelerated bachelor of science in nursing programs to serve 198 more students per year. Thomas Saccente, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2022 For example, faculty members can use assignments to encourage students to reflect on their life purpose and connect it with their future career aspirations. Mariya Yukhymenko, The Conversation, 6 Sep. 2022 Mastriano was the only one of the 21 faculty members in the photo to don a Confederate uniform for the occasion. Grayson Quay, The Week, 27 Aug. 2022 Anderson’s mother, Amy Bishop, shot six fellow faculty members, killing three of them, during a meeting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010. Ashley Remkus | Aremkus@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2022 Clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Paul Grein, Billboard, 23 Aug. 2022 However, faculty members have been vocal in their support and assistance to the cause. Fox News, 20 Aug. 2022 See More
From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 14 Sep. 2022 There were only 12 Black faculty members out of 456 and six administrators from a field of 95. Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2022 The university will spend about $4 million at first to immediately hire 27 faculty members to expand its traditional and accelerated bachelor of science in nursing programs to serve 198 more students per year. Thomas Saccente, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2022 For example, faculty members can use assignments to encourage students to reflect on their life purpose and connect it with their future career aspirations. Mariya Yukhymenko, The Conversation, 6 Sep. 2022 Mastriano was the only one of the 21 faculty members in the photo to don a Confederate uniform for the occasion. Grayson Quay, The Week, 27 Aug. 2022 Anderson’s mother, Amy Bishop, shot six fellow faculty members, killing three of them, during a meeting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010. Ashley Remkus | Aremkus@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2022 Clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Paul Grein, Billboard, 23 Aug. 2022 However, faculty members have been vocal in their support and assistance to the cause. Fox News, 20 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English faculte "power, ability, field of knowledge, branch of learning at a university," borrowed from Anglo-French faculté, borrowed from Medieval Latin facultāt-, facultās (Latin, "power, ability, opportunity, quantity available"), from Latin *faklis, earlier form of facilis "easy, accommodating" + -tāt-, -tās -ty — more at facile
Note: Latin facultās presumably developed from an original *faklitāts (via *fakl̥tāts > *fakiltāts > facultās), and hence is a doublet of facilitās "quality of being easily performed" (see facility), a derivative formed after facilis had assumed its attested form (with *-klis > -cilis). The difference in meaning between the two derivatives suggests the original adjective *faklis may have meant something like "possessing the power, able" (whence "easily done," conforming to other adjectives in -ilis).
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing faculty
Kids Definition
faculty
noun
fac·ul·ty ˈfak-əl-tē
plural faculties
1
: ability to do something : talent
He has a faculty for making friends.
2
: one of the powers of the mind or body
the faculty of hearing
3
: the teachers in a school or college
Medical Definition
faculty
noun
fac·ul·ty ˈfak-əl-tē
plural faculties
1
a
: an inherent capability, power, or function
the faculty of hearing
digestive faculty
b
: one of the powers of the mind formerly held by psychologists to form a basis for the explanation of all mental phenomena
2
a
: the members of a profession
b
: the teaching and administrative staff and those members of the administration having academic rank in an educational institution
faculties
noun
1
as in powers
a natural ability of the mind or body although they are well into their 80s, the mental faculties of this couple are as sharp as ever Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- powers
- capacities
- capabilities
- aptitudes
- instincts
- functions
- endowments
- talents
- gifts
- knacks
- genii
- geniuses
- flairs
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- incapacities
- inabilities
- incapabilities
- inaptitudes
2
as in talents
a special and usually inborn ability even when he was still at a young age, John Singleton Copley's artistic faculties were readily recognizable Synonyms & Similar Words
- talents
- aptitudes
- gifts
- knacks
- endowments
- flairs
- geniuses
- bents
- eyes
- minds
- tendencies
- affinities
- skills
- ears
- genii
- capacities
- facilities
- inclinations
- impulses
- dispositions
- predispositions
- instincts
- powers
- proclivities
- propensities
- habitudes
- capabilities
- partialities
- feels
- predilections
- competences
- heads
- proficiencies
- biases
- penchants
- leanings
- potentials
- noses
- ways
- specialities
- specialties
- touches
- specialisms
- fortes
- turns
- hangs
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- disabilities
- incapacities
- handicaps
- inabilities
- weaknesses
- shortcomings
3
as in abilities
the physical or mental power to do something the belief that if someone loses their sight, all of their other physical faculties are heightened Synonyms & Similar Words
- abilities
- capacities
- aptitudes
- talents
- capabilities
- competencies
- skills
- competences
- facilities
- endowments
- equipments
- reasons
- instincts
- intelligences
- gifts
- dexterities
- resources
- hands
- knacks
- understandings
- potencies
- influences
- prowesses
- addresses
- gray matters
- adequacies
- means
- mights
- puissances
- stuff
- staying powers
- forms
- wherewithals
- kens
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- incapacities
- disabilities
- incapabilities
- inabilities
- weaknesses
- deficiencies
- impotences
- incompetencies
- ineptitudes
- inadequacies
- impairments
- debilitations
- incompetences
- paralyses
- inefficacies
- disablements
- ineffectualities
- incapacitations