Ingenious

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːniÉ™s

Alternative forms

• engenious

Origin

From Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeniosus ("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.

Full definition of ingenious

Adjective

1. Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to invent.This fellow is ingenious; he fixed a problem I didn't even know I had.
2. Characterized by genius; cleverly done or contrived.That is an ingenious model of the atom.
3. Witty; original; shrewd; adroit; keen; sagacious.He sent me an ingenious reply for an email.

Usage notes

Do not confuse with ingenuous.

Synonyms

Related terms