ingenuity
Americannoun
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
The rover is currently collecting data and deployed the agency’s Ingenuity helicopter, which became the first craft to conduct a controlled flight on another planet.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
"Ingenuity can never become an alibi for incivility," the municipality of Catania said in a post on its official Facebook page.
From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026
William Keating, head of semiconductor and tech consulting firm Ingenuity, expects the same.
From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025
The rover and its helicopter sidekick Ingenuity have captured stunning images of Mars and collected 23 unique rock core samples along 17 miles of an ancient river delta.
From Science Daily • Feb. 22, 2024
Ingenuity, good judgment and great care should be used in making all kinds of pastry.
From My Pet Recipes, Tried and True Contributed by the Ladies and Friends of St. Andrew's Church, Quebec by Various
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.
