genius
Americannoun
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an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc..
the genius of Mozart.
- Synonyms:
- wit, ingenuity, intelligence
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a person having such capacity.
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a person having an extraordinarily high intelligence rating on a psychological test, as an IQ above 140.
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natural ability or capacity; strong inclination.
a special genius for leadership.
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distinctive character or spirit, as of a nation, period, or language.
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the guardian spirit of a place, institution, etc.
-
either of two mutually opposed spirits, one good and the other evil, supposed to attend a person throughout life.
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a person who strongly influences for good or ill the character, conduct, or destiny of a person, place, or thing.
Rasputin, the evil genius of Russian politics.
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Islamic Mythology. jinn; genie.
noun
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a person with exceptional ability, esp of a highly original kind
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such ability or capacity
Mozart's musical genius
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the distinctive spirit or creative nature of a nation, era, language, etc
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a person considered as exerting great influence of a certain sort
an evil genius
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Roman myth
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the guiding spirit who attends a person from birth to death
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the guardian spirit of a place, group of people, or institution
-
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Arabian myth (usually plural) a demon; jinn
Usage
Plural word for genius The plural form of genius can be either geniuses or genii, pronounced [ jee-nee-ahy ], depending on the intended meaning of the word. Geniuses is much more commonly used. The plural forms of several other singular words that end in -us are also formed in this way, such as virus/viruses, callus/calluses, and status/statuses. Irregular plurals that are formed like genii, such as radius/radii or cactus/cacti, derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin. However, the standard English plural -es is often also acceptable for these terms, as in radiuses and cactuses.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of genius
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin: “tutelary deity or genius of a person”; cf. genus
Explanation
Genius is an exceptional talent or skill, something above and beyond the norm. A genius is someone who possesses this brilliance, like a child prodigy who learned the piano at age 3 and played sold-out concerts by age 5. Genius comes from the Latin word of the same name, meaning "guardian deity or spirit which watches over each person from birth" or "innate ability." Your genius — your superior talent — at the game of chess could make you a world champion. Your amazing genius would also make you a genius. The word can be used more lightheartedly to describe a natural ability or flair for something. You may have a genius for putting together stylish outfits.
Vocabulary lists containing genius
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1
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Albert Einstein
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Despite these sobering realities, “The Madness Pill” is a celebration of scientific genius and a salute to the wild complexity of the brain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Huang referenced an ancient Chinese myth where three ordinary people combine their wits to equal one genius.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
But during these trying times, Lawson’s revamped Caesar salad is pure genius.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
To see Argentina's obvious talent, which they displayed by overpowering England in the semi-final, reduced to such spoiling tactics was a dismal sight, hardly designed to aid Messi's genius and influence.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Pascal’s father, Étienne, was an accomplished scientist and mathematician; the young Blaise was a genius equal to his father.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
And how could they be in any art that is, above and beyond all else, a celebration of genii loci, spirits of place?
From New York Times ● May 4, 2023
It turns out that swifts, beloved genii locorum of bright summer streets, are just as much nocturnal creatures of thick summer darkness.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2020
The presiding genii of this particular work include Adrienne Rich, Sigmund Freud, Alice Miller and, above all, Virginia Woolf and the British psychoanalyst DW Winnicott.
From The Guardian ● May 24, 2012
The registration spells the Latin word "genii", meaning magical person or being.
From BBC ● May 15, 2011
Under the stress of war, this process of credit inflation has been growing like the genii let out of the bottle.
From The Book of Life by Sinclair, Upton
But at that time it created a problem because you had these critics and these NBC executives; they were riding high because they had “Seinfeld,” they felt like they were geniuses.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
"He is a player blessed by God. Football geniuses have something special, and he has it," De la Fuente said.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
“They are such artistic geniuses, but so silly and playful.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
Springsteen called the musician a writer in the lineage of "geniuses" and "natural rebels" like Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
Over the course of the chapters ahead, I’m going to introduce you to one kind of outlier after another: to geniuses, business tycoons, rock stars, and software programmers.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
