ingenious

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeniōsus (endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius), from ingenium (innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius), from in- (in) +‎ gignere (to produce), Old Latin genere. See also engine.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɪnˈd͡ʒiːnjəs/, /ɪnˈd͡ʒiːniəs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːniəs
  • Hyphenation: in‧ge‧nious

Adjective

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ingenious (comparative more ingenious, superlative most ingenious)

  1. (of a person) Displaying genius or brilliance; inventive.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:intelligent
    This fellow is ingenious; he fixed a problem I didn’t even know I had.
  2. (of a thing) Characterized by genius; cleverly contrived or done.
    Synonym: artful
    That is an ingenious model of the atom.
  3. Showing originality or sagacity; witty.
    Synonyms: adroit, keen, sagacious, shrewd; see also Thesaurus:witty
    He sent me an ingenious reply to an email.

Usage notes

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Not to be confused with ingenuous.

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

References

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