ingenious
75
5.8
- adjective
- /ɪnˈdʒiːniəs/
:
ingenioso
- Her ingenious approach to solving the puzzle impressed everyone in the class.
- an ingenious method
- an ingenious device
- an ingenious design
It's a very ingenious idea because it's so simple.
- It's a very ingenious idea because it's so simple.
- And we was mischievous, you know, we would find mischievous, ingenious ways of making money.
- This is kind of an ingenious way of talking about this.
- I think it's all nonsense, but ingenious nonsense.
- I think that I just think that's ingenious.
- And he is in his own ingenious way.
- And he was funny and fast and thinker and ingenious and witty.
- And they'll use methods and tools and ingenious ideas.
Examples
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At that time, Petra was admired for its refined culture, massive architecture, and ingenious water system.
Academic text (2008) -
It's a very ingenious idea because it's so simple.
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See these ingenious little things people come up with?
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This is kind of an ingenious way of talking about this.
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Theory and practice are brought together again in an ingenious sort of way.
Academic text (2017) -
So it's very ingenious, but it's also very unusual.
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So this is an ingenious way to solve those constraints, OK.
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Japanese firms use a variety of ingenious means to get around the official ban on investments.
Academic text (1991) -
It is the most ingenious book I have ever read.
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Although we had little money and less food, she somehow assembled an ingenious four-course meal.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
573
1.7
Understands things quickly and finds smart solutions
165
5.5
Having new ideas or methods to do things better
40
3.8
Able to think of new and useful ideas
Showing skill at making new things
Introducing new ideas or ways of doing things
Good at finding ways to solve hard problems
Antonyms
How Clever
Surface Forms
Morphology
ingenious = ingeni + ous
The adjective is formed from a Latin combining form ('ingeni-') plus the productive English suffix '-ous'; the root is not a standalone English word, so knowing common English bases does not let a learner reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Ingenious comes from the old Latin word ingenium, which meant 'natural talent' or 'clever idea'. It is related to engineer and ingenuity, so to call a person or thing ingenious is to say it shows clever skill in finding new solutions.