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

• 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

Students and faculty have organized protests, rallies, social media campaigns, and public meetings to demand that their police departments withdraw from the agreement. —Miami Herald, 12 July 2025

Two small-school shoutouts Williams-Amherst: The Division III rivalry was born back in 1821 when Zephaniah Swift Moore, then-Williams president, took a selection of faculty and students and started Amherst College 60 miles away. —David Ubben, New York Times, 11 July 2025

Still, the Scotland project seems to have addressed the question of whether the turbines can last in seawater, added Copping, a distinguished faculty fellow in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington. —Jennifer McDermott, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025

The new union, College of DuPage Staff United/AFSCME, will represent classified staff, including administrative, clerical, IT and other employees who support students and faculty, a news release said. —Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025

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