clever

[ klev-er ]

adjective

, clev·er·er, clev·er·est.

1. mentally bright; having sharp or quick intelligence; able.

   Synonyms: expert, apt, gifted, smart, quick-witted, talented, ingenious

   Antonyms: stupid

2. superficially skillful, witty, or original in character or construction; facile:

   It was an amusing, clever play, but of no lasting value.

3. showing inventiveness or originality; ingenious:

   His clever device was the first to solve the problem.

4. adroit with the hands or body; dexterous or nimble.

   Synonyms: handy, agile, skillful

   Antonyms: clumsy

5. Older Use.
   1. suitable; convenient; satisfactory.
   2. good-natured.
   3. handsome.
   4. in good health.

clever

/ ˈklɛvə /

adjective

1. displaying sharp intelligence or mental alertness
2. adroit or dexterous, esp with the hands
3. smart in a superficial way
4. informal.
   sly; cunning
5. dialect.
   predicative; used with a negative healthy; fit

Derived Forms

• ˈcleverness, noun
• ˈcleverish, adjective
• ˈcleverly, adverb

Other Words From

• clever·ish adjective
• clever·ish·ly adverb
• clever·ly adverb
• clever·ness noun
• over·clever adjective
• over·clever·ly adverb
• over·clever·ness noun
• un·clever adjective
• un·clever·ly adverb
• un·clever·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of clever¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English cliver, perhaps from Old English clifer “claw,” clife “burdock,” or akin to East Frisian klüfer “skillful, agile, alert”; cleavers, cleft ¹, clove ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of clever¹

C13 cliver (in the sense: quick to seize, adroit), of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Often, they include several pages of straightforward cooking advice, clever and common ingredient substitutions, and measurement conversions.

From Eater

There are so many things to love about the Surface Duo, from the “dropped in from the future” looks and smooth feel to the clever hinges and the new split-screen app mode.

From Fortune

Zhong’s clever marketing is also a factor in Nongfu’s success.

From Fortune

The question he directed at me was my cue, and in the back of the limousine I’d spent some time thinking about clever and unexpected answers to a million different questions about Avatar, although perhaps not this particular one.

From Fortune

He’s very good at finding clever ways of encoding problems as SAT problems.

From Quanta Magazine

Few of us are as clever as my Inspector Morse-loving friend.

From The Daily Beast

The clever part is that the present was “re-gifted” from city and state tax revenues.

From The Daily Beast

The clever crooks managed to rack up $2 million in profits over a year, Ares said.

From The Daily Beast

He wants to show her how clever he is and, more importantly, how well the script is going, that there is hope, a future.

From The Daily Beast

The small band of French critics helped shift the view of Hitchcock from a clever, popular entertainer to a Significant Artist.

From The Daily Beast

And so this is why the clever performer cannot reproduce the effect of a speech of Demosthenes or Daniel Webster.

From Project Gutenberg

I have taken a violent dislike to more than one clever American man merely because he trailed his voice through his nose.

From Project Gutenberg

For some time he said nothing, and then he remarked that I was very clever, but he did n't see a word of sense in what I said.

From Project Gutenberg

It was as if he had said: "You think yourself very clever, but do you suppose that I can't read the notes in a time-table?"

From Project Gutenberg

But all men at times betray themselves, and some betrayals, if scarcely clever, are not without nobility.

From Project Gutenberg