ingenious

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪnˈd͡ʒiːnjəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #11087

Meanings

1

adj
Cleverly inventive and original; very good at solving problems in new ways.

She came up with an ingenious way to keep the kids entertained on the long trip.
2

adj
Cleverly designed or made.

The engineers built an ingenious device that folds flat for storage.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · cleverly inventive and... clever brilliant inventive

2 adj · cleverly designed or made. artful

Word family

Derived forms hyperingeniousingeniouslyoveringenioussuperingeniousultraingeniousuningenious

Related forms engine engineer genius ingeniosity ingeniousness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

ingenious solution
A clever answer to a problem that shows inventive thinking.

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Ingenious comes from the Latin ingenium, “talent” or “device,” the same source that reached English through Old French as engine. It entered English in the later Middle English period.

Etymology

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.

*ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European ingénieux Middle French engenious Old French ingeniōsus Latin genere itc-ola

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# ingenious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈd͡ʒiːnjəs/
**Frequency rank:** 11087

## Meanings
1. Cleverly inventive and original; very good at solving problems in new ways.
2. Cleverly designed or made.

## Examples
- She came up with an ingenious way to keep the kids entertained on the long trip.
- The engineers built an ingenious device that folds flat for storage.

## Derived Forms
- hyperingenious
- ingeniously
- overingenious
- superingenious
- ultraingenious
- uningenious

## Related Forms
- engine
- engineer
- genius
- ingeniosity
- ingeniousness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵenh₁-
- Root: ingénieux
- Root: engenious
- Root: ingeniōsus
- Root: genere

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Ingenious is 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. In present-day use, it can mean cleverly inventive and original; very good at solving problems in new ways, or cleverly designed or made. Derived formations include hyperingenious, ingeniously, overingenious, superingenious, and ultraingenious.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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