All of Laptsev went to stare at the bride-to-be—she was no beauty, but everyone could see that she was clever, sophisticated …—Isaac Bashevis Singer, New Yorker, 29 Sept. 2003… the three of them may give Gray Davis, who was too clever for his own good, his comeuppance.—Garrison Keillor, Time, 25 Aug. 2003Some thought he had no redeeming value whatsoever. A sociopath. A clever manipulator …—Louise Erdrich, New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2002Those who can't write poetry, write clever letters to the editor. Those who can't write clever letters to the editor, write angry letters to the editor.—Matt Groening, Utne Reader, November/December 1987The old lady was clever enough and he thought that if she had started from any of the right premises, more might have been expected of her.—Flannery O'Connor, Everything That Rises Must Converge, 1967
Some cats are clever enough to figure out how to operate doorknobs.
That's the cleverest idea I've heard yet!
She found a clever hiding place for the letter.
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Other clever design touches are everywhere, from plastic guyline clips made from a material that won’t crack even in temperatures as low as negative 60 Fahrenheit, to wraparound snowflaps that enable you to set the tent up without stakes in deep snow.—Wes Siler, Outside Online, 6 Nov. 2024 Using clever shapes, colors and materials, the new styles truly push the boundaries of traditional eyewear into the end zone.—Kasey Caminiti, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024 The final twist is a clever one, especially for fans of the original Death Note manga.—Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024 Much in demand for her joyful fashion prints and clever sense of color, Birtwell’s talent has always been her ability to mix vibrant prints of different scales, freely weaving childlike splashy daisies with more geometric abstract squiggles in exuberant colorways.—Emma Baxter-Wright, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for clever
Word History
Etymology
Middle English cliver, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dialect kløver alert, skillful
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