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

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 of faculty

• power
• capability
• capacity

Choose the Right Synonym for faculty

gift, faculty, aptitude, bent, talent, genius, knack mean a special ability for doing something.

gift often implies special favor by God or nature.

the gift of singing beautifully

faculty applies to an innate or less often acquired ability for a particular accomplishment or function.

a faculty for remembering names

aptitude implies a natural liking for some activity and the likelihood of success in it.

a mechanical aptitude

bent is nearly equal to aptitude but it stresses inclination perhaps more than specific ability.

a family with an artistic bent

talent suggests a marked natural ability that needs to be developed.

has enough talent to succeed

genius suggests impressive inborn creative ability.

has no great genius for poetry

knack implies a comparatively minor but special ability making for ease and dexterity in performance.

the knack of getting along

Examples of faculty in a Sentence

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

Alford also served on the staffs of area hospitals and as a faculty member at his alma mater. — Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026

The company will name the program’s mentors and faculty in the next few weeks. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026

These dynamics not only affect individual faculty members but can also lead to long-term damage to the reputation of institutions and negatively impact students’ educational experiences. — Jason Walker, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2026

Guskiewicz said the safety of students, faculty and staff remains the university's priority, and that MSU would share more information with the campus community as details become available. — Karma Sabbah, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

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

• inter-faculty
• sub-faculty

Kids Definition

faculty

noun

fac·​ul·​ty ˈfak-əl-tē 

plural faculties

1

: ability to do something : talent

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