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capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent:
She has a special aptitude for mathematics.
readiness or quickness in learning; intelligence:
He was placed in honors classes because of his general aptitude.
the state or quality of being apt; special fitness.
Contemporary Examples

According to the aptitude Chronology report, she was also diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
Former Student Claims U.S. Naval Academy Had ‘Zero Tolerance’ for Rape Victims Jesse Ellison May 3, 2012

Others say Wong is smart, and has an aptitude for understanding foreign policy.
Romney’s Foreign-Policy Team: Anyone Home? Eli Lake July 1, 2012

“The girls we teach have the aptitude, and they can get a job right out of high school,” she says.
New Feminists: Young, Multicultural, Strategic, and Looking Out for Each Other Gail Sheehy February 25, 2013

But that won’t do for the folks without the aptitude to enter the new high-skilled fields.
Why Aren’t We Creating Enough New Jobs? Megan McArdle June 17, 2013

So the KGB assembled a group of young women with an aptitude for languages.
Soviet-Style Sexual Politics Returns Will Cathcart May 18, 2014

Historical Examples

She had no aptitude for aimlessness, and moreover thought it vulgar.
The Tragic Muse Henry James

Their eagerness and aptitude in learning to read surprises every one.
Letters from Port Royal Various

And this aptitude is abundantly encouraged by history; for here was once the favored home of a tribe of Indians.
Peter Parley’s Own Story Samuel G. Goodrich

And in cases where the ignorance is absent, the aptitude is there.
Athalie Robert W. Chambers

He does hug himself, and whether he does it consciously or unconsciously depends on his aptitude for clear self-criticism.
Frulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther Elizabeth von Arnim

noun
inherent or acquired ability
ease in learning or understanding; intelligence
the condition or quality of being apt
n.

early 15c., “tendency, likelihood,” from Middle French aptitude (14c.) or directly from Late Latin aptitudo (genitive aptitudinis) “fitness,” noun of quality from Latin aptus “joined, fitted” (see apt). Meaning “natural capacity to learn” is 1540s; that of “quality of being fit (for a purpose or position)” is from 1640s.