# ingenious

Pronunciation: say "in-JEEN-yus" /ɪnˈd͡ʒiːnjəs/

## Adjective

1. Of a thing, showing genius in its design or execution; cleverly devised, made or carried out.
   - Simple: Very cleverly made, planned or done.
   - _The engineers came up with an ingenious system for collecting rainwater from the roof._
   - _The plot of the film is ingenious, with every clue hidden in plain sight._
2. Of a person, showing brilliance or genius and full of inventive, original ideas.
   - Simple: Very clever and good at thinking up new ideas or new ways to do things.
   - _An ingenious engineer, she redesigned the pump so that it needed no electricity at all._
   - _He was ingenious enough to turn an old laptop into a home weather station._
3. Showing originality, shrewd judgment or wit, as a clever reply or question does.
   - Simple: Smart and original, or clever in a funny way.
   - _The lawyer's ingenious question caught the witness completely off guard._
   - _Critics praised the novel's ingenious wordplay and sharp dialog._

## Origin

Borrowed from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeniōsus ("gifted with natural ability, gifted with genius"), from ingenium ("natural quality, natural ability, genius"), from in- ("in") + gignere ("to produce"). Compare engine.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ingenious (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).