ingenious

[ in-jeen-yuhs ]

adjective

1. characterized by cleverness or originality of invention or construction:

   an ingenious machine.

2. cleverly inventive or resourceful:

   an ingenious press agent.

   Synonyms: adroit, resourceful, able, gifted, bright

   Antonyms: unskillful, maladroit, inept

3. Obsolete.
   1. intelligent; showing genius.
   2. ingenuous.

ingenious

/ ɪnˈdʒiːnjəs; -nɪəs /

adjective

1. possessing or done with ingenuity; skilful or clever
2. obsolete.
   having great intelligence; displaying genius

Confusables Note

Ingenious and ingenuous arose from the same Latin root meaning “to beget, give birth” and once had the same meaning. They are now distinct from each other and are not synonyms. Ingenious means “characterized by cleverness” or “cleverly inventive,” as in contriving new explanations or methods: an ingenious device; ingenious designers. Both ingenious and ingenuous originally meant “of honorable or free birth, noble in character; open, frank, candid,” senses that exist in Latin. Since the second half of the 17th century, ingenuous has acquired the additional sense “naively open, innocently frank”: an ingenuous and sincere statement; a thug with the ingenuous eyes of a choirboy.

Derived Forms

• inˈgeniousness, noun
• inˈgeniously, adverb

Other Words From

• in·genious·ly adverb
• in·genious·ness noun
• half-in·genious adjective
• half-in·genious·ly adverb
• half-in·genious·ness noun
• over·in·genious adjective
• over·in·genious·ly adverb
• over·in·genious·ness noun
• super·in·genious adjective
• super·in·genious·ly adverb
• super·in·genious·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ingenious¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Old French ingenïos, from Latin ingeniōsus, engeignos “clever, talented, gifted,” equivalent to ingeni(um) “natural disposition, temperament, mood; natural ability, cleverness” + -ōsus adjective suffix; in- ²( def ), genitor ( def ); -ium, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of ingenious¹

C15: from Latin ingeniōsus, from ingenium natural ability; see engine

Example Sentences

There was something random — and ingenious — in the choice of Malkovich, by then a two-time Oscar nominee and a widely respected performer of stage and screen who did not have a signature role: He was the kind of actor people knew they knew but could not always quite place.

From Los Angeles Times

He is alive today because a committee of the Texas Legislature did something genuinely unprecedented in this country’s history: It made ingenious use of an ordinary legislative power to create a legislative reprieve and stop his execution.

From Slate

Now, I might be a bit biased because frico —lacy, gossamer, uber-crispy cooked flats of parmesan cheese — is one of my favorite things on earth, but Han's inclusion is both simple and ingenious: The frico adds additional cheese flavor while also providing incredible texture.

From Salon

In what has been widely lauded as an ingenious rhetorical ploy, he started his speech on Saturday by connecting his appearance with the July shooting: “As I was saying….” Trump then used his remarks to stoke the flames of political division that threaten this nation — and his life a few short weeks ago.

From Salon

The Telegraph's Marianka Swain described it as a "glorious combination of ingenious, silly and surprisingly moving".

From BBC

Related Words

• creative
• imaginative
• innovative
• intelligent
• inventive
• resourceful
• shrewd
• skillful
• sly
• subtle