talent
[noun]
Synonyms: ability, aptitude, capacity, flair, genius, gift, knack

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Related Words: art, craft, skill, endowment, expertise, forte

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English Thesaurus: skill, talent, genius, gift, flair, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

tal‧ent W3 /ˈtælənt/ noun
[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: talent unit of weight or money in the ancient world (9-21 centuries), from Latin talentum, from Greek talanton; from a story in the Bible in which a man gives talents to his three servants, and two of them use them well]

1. [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something well:
He has a lot of talent, and his work is fresh and interesting.
talent for
She showed a talent for acting at an early age.
a persuasive speaker with a natural talent for leadership
His latest book reveals hidden talents.
Sadly, she inherited none of her father’s musical talent.
Your brother is a man of many talents.
There’s a wealth of talent in English football.
talent for
She showed a talent for acting at an early age.

2. [uncountable] a person or people with a natural ability or skill:
Britain’s footballing talent

3. [uncountable] British English informal sexually attractive people

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

talent
noun
ADJ. considerable, enormous, exceptional, extraordinary, formidable, genuine, great, major, outstanding, prodigious, rare, real, remarkable, special, tremendous, undoubted, unique | God-given, inborn, innate, natural, raw Hard work is important, but it is no substitute for raw talent.
hidden, undiscovered | mediocre | fresh, new The company is always looking out for new talent.
young | precocious | home-grown, local one of the few teams that relies on home-grown talent
top We are losing our top talent to other countries who pay more.
acting, artistic, creative, literary, managerial, musical, scientific, vocal, writing
VERB + TALENT have, possess The lad has undoubted talent.
demonstrate, display, reveal, show | flaunt, show off The banquet gave the chef a chance to flaunt his talents.
direct, redirect, turn After making her name as a singer, she turned her talents to acting.
discover, recognize, spot, unearth She has a keen eye for spotting talent. United have unearthed a real talent in this young defender.
build (on), cultivate, develop, harness, make the most of, nurture, realize, tap, use, utilize an effort to develop his creative talents to the full The theatre visits schools to tap young talent.
squander, waste His parents accused him of wasting his talents and abilities.
TALENT + VERB lie Her talents lay in organization.
TALENT + NOUN scout, spotter | competition, contest, show
PREP. of ~ He is a violinist of exceptional talent.
with/without ~ kids with musical talent
~ for You have a natural talent for storytelling.
PHRASES a man/woman, etc. of many talents, a pool of talent Hollywood directors have a marvellous pool of acting talent to draw from.
a wealth of talent There is a wealth of talent out there in our schools.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

talent

have talent
Greg has a real talent for drawing.
show talent
Zach was the only one who showed any natural talent.
use your talents
They have been using their artistic talents to brighten up the school.
develop your talent
Education allows people to develop their talents to the full.
waste your talents
They felt their son was wasting his talents and his time.
sb’s talents flourish (=develop successfully)
The school created an atmosphere in which young talent could flourish.
great/considerable/exceptional talent
He had a great talent for making money.
real talent
She has real talent and with a little help she could go far.
natural talent
Ronaldo is a player of immense natural talent.
raw talent (=used to describe someone with natural ability who has not had much training)
He’s got lots of raw talent but he needs a good coach.
a hidden talent
Have a go – you may discover a hidden talent!
musical/artistic/creative etc talent
It was at school that Brian’s musical talents were spotted.
a talent contest/show/competition
Don’t assume winning a talent contest is a passport to success.
a wealth of talent (=a large amount of talent)
There’s a wealth of musical talent in New York and other large American cities.
a pool of talent (=lots of talented people)
Employers can draw on an enormous pool of talent in this area.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

skill [uncountable and countable] an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised it:
He plays the piano with great skill.
communication/language/computer etc skills
The course will help you improve your communication skills.
talent [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something well which can be developed with practice:
She was a young artist with a lot of talent.
She showed a talent for acting from an early age.
He is a man of many talents.
genius [uncountable] very great ability, which only a few people have:
The opera shows Mozart’s genius as a composer.
Picasso was a painter of genius.
gift [countable] a natural ability to do something very well, which you were born with:
You can see that he has a gift for the game.
Winterson has great gifts as a writer.
flair [singular, uncountable] skill for doing something, especially something that needs imagination and creativity:
The job does require some creative flair.
She has a flair for languages.
expertise [uncountable] specialized knowledge of a technical subject, which you get from experience of doing that type of work:
The technical expertise for building the dam is being provided by a US company.
a/the knack /næk/ [singular] informal a special skill for doing a particular thing, especially a simple everyday thing:
Breadmaking is easy once you get the knack.
He has a knack for making people feel relaxed.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲