ingenious

adjective

in·​ge·​nious in-ˈjēn-yəs 

1

: having or showing an unusual aptitude for discovering, inventing, or contriving

an ingenious detective

2

: marked by originality, resourcefulness, and cleverness in conception or execution

an ingenious contraption

3

obsolete : showing or calling for intelligence, aptitude, or discernment

ingeniously adverb

ingeniousness noun

Synonyms

• clever
• creative
• imaginative
• innovational
• innovative
• innovatory
• inventive
• original
• originative
• Promethean

Choose the Right Synonym for ingenious

clever, adroit, cunning, ingenious mean having or showing practical wit or skill in contriving.

clever stresses physical or mental quickness, deftness, or great aptitude.

a person clever with horses

adroit often implies a skillful use of expedients to achieve one's purpose in spite of difficulties.

an adroit negotiator

cunning implies great skill in constructing or creating.

a filmmaker cunning in his use of special effects

ingenious suggests the power of inventing or discovering a new way of accomplishing something.

an ingenious software engineer

Examples of ingenious in a Sentence

How many dog-size bathrobes (an ingenious device) are out there? —David Colman, Vogue, April 2001

… spacecraft engineers tried to come up with ways to "unstick" the antenna. Those attempts failed, but by ingenious software and mission-sequencing techniques … the Galileo mission was still able to fulfill nearly all of its scientific requirements and return a rich quantity of scientific data … —Louis Friedman et al., Encyclopedia of the Solar System, 1999

… an ingenious method of checking errors … —W. David Gardner, Datamation, June 1982

The book has an ingenious plot.

She was ingenious at finding ways to work more quickly.

It was ingenious of him to arrange the schedule so precisely.

Recent Examples on the Web

Penned in lucid moments, before morphine and hospice care silenced his thoughts to all but himself—the Last List takes one, hand in hand, on a last stroll back to the bygone days of an ingenious Catholic boy, a mill worker's striving son, for a final visit to beloved Lowell. —Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024

Founded in Japan in 1984, the brand now dominates across the U.S. (in malls and bustling shopping streets) with its ingenious approach to mixing practicality with affordability, variety and technology. —Kristen Bateman, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2024

Buy Now See Which PEOPLE Book Picks Also Made the New York Times' Top 100 of 2024 05 of 10 'James' by Percival Everett From the author of Erasure, this National Book Award winner is an ingenious riff on Huckleberry Finn as told by Jim, the enslaved man who rafts with Huck down the Mississippi. —Lizz Schumer, People.com, 8 Dec. 2024

The puzzle Rachel had to complete — sliding all the balls into proper matching columns — was not so remarkable on its own, but the ingenious twist is that the entire puzzle platform was tied to a rope that was connected to a series of weights that would pull rope into the ocean. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 28 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ingenyous, from Middle French ingenieus, from Latin ingeniosus, from ingenium natural capacity — more at engine entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

ingenious

adjective

in·​ge·​nious in-ˈjēn-yəs 

: having or showing ingenuity : very clever

an ingenious plan

ingeniously adverb

ingeniousness noun

Etymology

from early French ingenieus "calling for or showing special intelligence or cleverness," from Latin ingeniosus (same meaning), from ingenium "natural ability or desire to do something, inborn ability," from in "in" and -genium, from gignere "to father, beget" — related to engine, genius, gin entry 1