The phrase "an ability to absorb" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing someone's capacity to take in information, experiences, or knowledge.
Example: "Her ability to absorb complex concepts quickly made her an excellent student in the advanced physics class."
Alternatives: "a capacity to understand" or "a talent for grasping".
But some Republican politicians display an ability to absorb the heat and reflect it back in more politically promising directions.
After all, its defining characteristic is an ability to absorb magical quantities of liquid, be it full-fat or soy milk.
In his case confusion led to an ability to absorb all sorts of circumstances and to empathize with people in every strata of society around the world.
And in taking on all-comers in a six-year stretch of the toughest fights available, Froch displayed a warrior spirit and an ability to absorb pain that is second to none.
PARIS — To be modern in fashion today, a designer needs a sculptural knowledge of the human body, an architect's understanding of graphic proportions and an ability to absorb the digital revolution.
The influence of the Jamaican-born Blackwell could be heard in the use of Caribbean idioms on his first big hits, Every Kind Of People and Best Of Both Worlds, in 1978, but two years later, with Looking For Clues and the strikingly sombre Johnny And Mary, he was demonstrating an ability to absorb the new-wave electronics of Kraftwerk, Devo and Gary Numan.
In an economic context, fully irrigated wet rice, as recorded (for instance) in colonial Java, had an enormous ability to absorb an increasing labor input and to feed an increasing population.
It shows an uncommon ability to absorb and synthesize a large amount of information on what was, for an undergraduate in 1981, a fairly arcane topic.
Horsehair's unique qualities — it's incredibly elastic, soft yet strong, and has an unsurpassed ability to absorb moisture — make it an ideal material for mattresses.
The first type is organic UV screeners (absorbers) that have an increased ability to absorb light in the UV range with further transmitting UV energy to thermal one.
But the system rewards two qualities that distinguish Cruz: a finely honed data operation and an uncanny ability to absorb humiliation.
