ingenious

[ in-jeen-yuhs ]
See synonyms for ingenious on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by cleverness or originality of invention or construction: an ingenious machine.

  2. cleverly inventive or resourceful: an ingenious press agent.

  1. Obsolete.

    • intelligent; showing genius.

    • ingenuous.

Origin of ingenious

1
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; see origin at in-2, genitor; see also -ium, -ous

confusables note For ingenious

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.

Other words for ingenious

Opposites for ingenious

Other words from ingenious

  • 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

Words that may be confused with ingenious

  • ingenious , ingenuous (see confusables note at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for ingenious

ingenious

/ (ɪnˈdʒiːnjəs, -nɪəs) /


adjective
  1. possessing or done with ingenuity; skilful or clever

  2. obsolete having great intelligence; displaying genius

Origin of ingenious

1
C15: from Latin ingeniōsus, from ingenium natural ability; see engine

Derived forms of ingenious

  • ingeniously, adverb
  • ingeniousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012