ingenuity
Americannoun
plural
ingenuities-
the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful; inventiveness.
a designer of great ingenuity.
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cleverness or skillfulness of conception or design.
a device of great ingenuity.
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an ingenious contrivance or device.
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Obsolete. ingenuousness.
noun
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inventive talent; cleverness
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an ingenious device, act, etc
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archaic frankness; candour
Other Word Forms
- hyperingenuity noun
- superingenuity noun
Etymology
Origin of ingenuity
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin ingenuitās “innate virtue, etc.” ( ingenuous, -ity ); current senses by association with ingenious
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.
One answer is its own ingenuity in building drones and missiles.
“And tell your friends to turn off the walkie-talkies. I appreciate their ingenuity, but they might as well come on in and listen in person.”
From Literature
Part of the film’s ingenuity is its ability to let us inhabit Travis’s psyche while not losing our perspective on him.
"We have gone deep into every corner of our business and are making the necessary changes, mobilising all the passion and ingenuity we have within Stellantis," Filosa said in the statement.
From Barron's
“I hid it in a chair, inside the metal tube of the chair leg,” said Héctor Orsenigo, who like many here takes pride in his ingenuity.
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.
