ingenuity
Americannoun
plural
ingenuities-
the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful; inventiveness.
a designer of great ingenuity.
-
cleverness or skillfulness of conception or design.
a device of great ingenuity.
-
an ingenious contrivance or device.
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Obsolete. ingenuousness.
noun
-
inventive talent; cleverness
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an ingenious device, act, etc
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archaic frankness; candour
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ingenuity
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin ingenuitās “innate virtue, etc.” ( see ingenuous, -ity); current senses by association with ingenious
Explanation
Ingenuity is the ability to think creatively about a situation or to solve problems in a clever way. If you want to build a boat out of toothpicks and yarn, you’ll need a lot of ingenuity. The Latin word for “mind, intellect” is a root of ingenuity, and it takes a bright and fast-thinking intellect to use ingenuity in a situation. Athletes show ingenuity all the time, finding exciting ways to outwit their opponents and to achieve victory. Master criminals rely on their ingenuity in order to evade the law when they are chased. Ingenuity is all about imagination, and an imaginative mind knows that every obstacle can be overcome with a little ingenuity.
Vocabulary lists containing ingenuity
The Diary of a Young Girl
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The Glass Castle
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George H.W. Bush (1924 -2018) Tribute List
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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.
More than that, I believe it’s a teachable skill — one built on generations of ingenuity, adaptation and care.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
He instructed law enforcement bodies to show "ingenuity and professionalism" and to "accommodate the vital interests of citizens".
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
The more client-facing your role and the more it relies on ingenuity, the more likely you will be to avoid an AI-related restructuring.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
Our critic praised his ingenuity, saying “It’s a rare thing to break new technical ground in any art form—especially one that’s tens of thousands of years old. Yet Masaomi Yasunaga does just that.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
He had sat here holding blank negatives, masterpieces of human ingenuity wasted.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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.
