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clever definition

clever (klev′ər)

adjective

  1. skillful in doing something; adroit; dexterous
  2. quick in thinking or learning; intelligent, ingenious, quick-witted, witty, facile, etc.
  3. showing ingenuity or quick, sometimes superficial, intelligence a clever book
  4. Dialectal
    1. amiable; good-natured
    2. handsome, convenient, nice, etc.

Etymology: ME cliver, prob. < EFris klüfer or Norw dial klöver, ready, skillful; ? infl. by OE clifer, claw, hand, in the sense, “adroit with the hand”: for the latter sense development, see adroit, dexterous

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

clever Synonyms

clever

modif.

  1. Mentally quick

    smart, bright, intelligent, quick, shrewd, ingenious, cunning, sharp, keen, astute, witty, quick-witted, sharp-witted, quick-thinking, amusing, scintillating, inventive, resourceful, original, talented, gifted, apt, facile, glib, precocious, brainy*, sharp as a tack*, quick on the uptake*, quick on the trigger*; see also intelligent 1, sly 1.

  2. Apt, particularly with one's hands

    skillful, expert, adroit; see able 1, 2.

clever, implies quick-wittedness or adroitness, as in contriving the solution to a problem a clever reply; cunning suggests great skill or ingenuity, but often implies deception or craftiness cunning as a fox; ingenious stresses inventive skill, as in origination or fabrication an ingenious device; shrewd suggests cleverness and acumen accompanied by practicality a shrewd judge of character, sometimes verging on craftiness a shrewd politician See also syn. study at intelligent.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

clever Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • do: It does something clever with Google maps to create a map where visitors to your site are logged.

Modifies a noun

  • clog: Some clever clogs could do it in 30 minutes of course.

Modifying Another Word

  • fiendishly: It looks stunning, and appears to be fiendishly clever.

Infinitive complement

  • know: Many are clever enough to know the truth, but choose to use their cleverness to continue to hide behind it.

Used with adjective complement

  • feel: I am also feeling very clever for learning how to put a tag in.

Preposition: by

  • half: Is this why you can be ' too clever by half ' ?
clever usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

clever quotes

You, for example, clever to a fault, The rough and ready man who write apace, Read somewhat seldomer, think perhaps even less.

-Browning, Robert

To be clever enough to get all that money, one must be stupid enough to want it.

-Chesterton, G(ilbert) K(eith)

Alles Gescheite ist schon gedacht worden; man muss nur versuchen, es noch einmal zu denken. Everything clever has been thought of before.We must try to think it again.

-Goethe,JohannWolfgang von

clever quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
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clever. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

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