ingenious

[ in-jeen-yuhs ]

adjective

1. characterized by cleverness or originality of invention or construction:

   an ingenious machine.

2. cleverly inventive or resourceful:

   an ingenious press agent.

   Synonyms: adroit, resourceful, able, gifted, bright

   Antonyms: unskillful, maladroit, inept

3. Obsolete.
   1. intelligent; showing genius.
   2. ingenuous.

ingenious

/ -nɪəs; ɪnˈdʒiːnjəs /

adjective

1. possessing or done with ingenuity; skilful or clever
2. obsolete.
   having great intelligence; displaying genius

Confusables Note

Ingenious and ingenuous arose from the same Latin root meaning “to beget, give birth” and once had the same meaning. They are now distinct from each other and are not synonyms. Ingenious means “characterized by cleverness” or “cleverly inventive,” as in contriving new explanations or methods: an ingenious device; ingenious designers. Both ingenious and ingenuous originally meant “of honorable or free birth, noble in character; open, frank, candid,” senses that exist in Latin. Since the second half of the 17th century, ingenuous has acquired the additional sense “naively open, innocently frank”: an ingenuous and sincere statement; a thug with the ingenuous eyes of a choirboy.

Derived Forms

• inˈgeniously, adverb
• inˈgeniousness, noun

Other Words From

• in·genious·ly adverb
• in·genious·ness noun
• half-in·genious adjective
• half-in·genious·ly adverb
• half-in·genious·ness noun
• over·in·genious adjective
• over·in·genious·ly adverb
• over·in·genious·ness noun
• super·in·genious adjective
• super·in·genious·ly adverb
• super·in·genious·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ingenious¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Old French ingenïos, from Latin ingeniōsus, engeignos “clever, talented, gifted,” equivalent to ingeni(um) “natural disposition, temperament, mood; natural ability, cleverness” + -ōsus adjective suffix; in- ²( def ), genitor ( def ); -ium, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of ingenious¹

C15: from Latin ingeniōsus, from ingenium natural ability; see engine

Example Sentences

Then I sort of forgot about them, until roughly 2015, when a diabolically ingenious album called FFS—a collaboration between the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand and, once again, Sparks—caught my attention.

From Time

An ingenious little invention, this kitchen appliance can make a huge difference when it comes to quick snacks, full meals, and delicious leftovers.

From Popular-Science

However, the game’s art direction and ingenious puzzles give “Call of the Sea” undeniable momentum.

From Washington Post

Once on the ground an extremely ingenious system allows the flight-pod “to open up like a flower and release the dog in less than 10 seconds after landing.”

From Popular-Science

Pointy uses an ingenious and simple method to get local store inventory online, which can then be presented in organic search results or paid search ads.

From Search Engine Land

Projects like this offer smart, sometimes ingenious ideas about how we can and should live in buildings and cities.

From The Daily Beast

In ways large and small, devious and immature, ingenious and inspiring, she struggled to escape.

From The Daily Beast

Mimicry is an ingenious survival technique, albeit one that is of little use against bulldozers and chainsaws.

From The Daily Beast

We came up with an ingenious plan that would light a fire in the belly of the digital revolution.

From The Daily Beast

They have talent and Lennon/McCartney are the most inventive, wide-ranging and melodically ingenious writers pop has produced.

From The Daily Beast

Just try it once, and you'll see how ingenious it is—only one must be careful not to throw out the elbow in turning out the wrist.

From Project Gutenberg

He uses the red pipe-stone and other materials in the production of his pipes, which are ingenious specimens of sculpture.

From Project Gutenberg

Metal buttons or pistons located on the toe piece of the pedal-board were introduced by the ingenious Casavant of Canada.

From Project Gutenberg

From these ingenious "conceits" we turn to a few thoughts on the present condition and history of the plant.

From Project Gutenberg

The pipes are alternated and in this ingenious way sympathy is largely avoided.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• creative
• imaginative
• innovative
• intelligent
• inventive
• resourceful
• shrewd
• skillful
• sly
• subtle

Ingenious Vs. Ingenuous

What’s the difference between ingenious and ingenuous?

Ingenious means clever or cleverly inventive or resourceful. Ingenuous means sincere or, perhaps more commonly, naive or innocent.

Careful: ingenious sounds like genius (the two are often used in the same contexts and even come from the same root) but it’s not spelled ingenius.

Ingenious is most often used in the context of ideas, inventions, and solutions considered clever for their inventiveness and resourcefulness. The related noun ingenuity refers to the quality of being ingenious—cleverness or inventiveness.

Ingenuous, on the other hand, is most commonly used to describe people—typically people considered naive or overly trusting, especially due to a lack of real-world experience. The related noun ingénue refers to a young, inexperienced person.

The adjective disingenuous is more commonly used than ingenuous and means insincere or falsely ingenuous—someone who’s described as disingenuous might be faking naivete.

Once upon a time, ingenious was used to mean ingenuous, but this is no longer the case.

To remember the difference, remember that ingenious sounds like genius and is used in similar contexts—an ingenious idea might also be described as a genius idea. Just don’t forget the -ous ending in ingenious.

The middle of ingenuous sounds like the beginning of genuine, and an ingenuous person is usually a genuine one—nothing about them is insincere or intended to hide who they really are.

Here’s an example of ingenious and ingenuous used correctly in a sentence.

Example: The ingenuous inventor signed away the rights to his ingenious new creation without realizing it.

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between ingenious and ingenuous.

Quiz yourself on ingenious vs. ingenuous!

Should ingenious or ingenuous be used in the following sentence?

The design is truly _____—I’ve never seen anything like it.