agility

agility — noun

1. the skill of moving the body around fast and with good control, especially when

1.名詞B2
釋義

the skill of moving the body around fast and with good control, especially when changing direction, dodging, or balancing.

例句

Noa watched the cat jump from shelf to shelf with surprising agility.

preposition: with agility

Skipping rope every morning has improved Leila's speed and agility on the basketball court.

collocation: speed and agility

同義詞
  • nimbleness

    near-synonym; emphasises lightness and ease of motion

  • dexterity

    more about skilled hand or finger movement than whole-body motion

  • suppleness

    focus on flexible, bending movement rather than speed

反義詞
  • clumsiness

    lack of control while moving, often causing accidents

  • stiffness

    physical inability to move freely

文法句型

agility of [body part]

with agility

用法筆記

Uncountable; usually paired with another physical quality (speed, strength, balance) or modified by an adjective (great, surprising, remarkable).

常見錯誤

❌He has many agilities in his legs.
✅He has great agility in his legs.
💡agility is uncountable, so no plural and no 'many'.

2. the ability to take in information, work through problems, and form clear ideas

2.名詞C1
釋義

the ability to take in information, work through problems, and form clear ideas at speed — for example when solving puzzles, debating, or making decisions under pressure.

例句

Chess at age ninety keeps Grandma Rosa's mental agility sharper than most teenagers'.

collocation: mental agility

The lawyer answered every tough question with an agility that left the jury impressed.

pattern: with [adjective] agility

同義詞
  • sharpness

    focus on quickness and precision of thought

  • quickness

    speed of understanding; less about depth

  • acuity

    more formal; suggests keen perception and judgement

反義詞
  • slowness

    general lack of speed in thinking

  • dullness

    lack of mental sharpness or curiosity

文法句型

mental agility

agility of mind

用法筆記

Almost always preceded by a modifier such as 'mental', 'intellectual', or 'of mind/thought' to make clear it is the thinking sense, not the body sense.

常見錯誤

❌She showed agility on the maths exam.
✅She showed mental agility on the maths exam.
💡without a modifier, readers may picture physical movement.

3. a way of running a company, team, or project that builds in regular feedback and

3.名詞C1
釋義

a way of running a company, team, or project that builds in regular feedback and small adjustments, so plans can shift as customer needs or market conditions change.

例句

The startup's agility let it launch a new app feature two weeks after customer complaints.

collocation: business agility (in context)

Big banks struggle with agility because every small change must pass through five committees.

同義詞
  • flexibility

    general willingness to adjust; less tied to iterative methods

  • adaptability

    ability to adjust to new conditions; broader than agility

  • responsiveness

    speed in reacting to customers or events; outcome rather than method

反義詞

文法句型

business agility

organisational agility

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 2: this sense describes how a team or company is organised, not one person's thinking. Often capitalised as 'Agile' when referring to the formal software methodology.

常見錯誤

❌Our company has an agility.
✅Our company has agility.
💡uncountable in this sense too; no article 'an' and no plural.