All of Laptsev went to stare at the bride-to-be—she was no beauty, but everyone could see that she was clever, sophisticated …—Isaac Bashevis Singer, New Yorker, 29 Sept. 2003… the three of them may give Gray Davis, who was too clever for his own good, his comeuppance.—Garrison Keillor, Time, 25 Aug. 2003Some thought he had no redeeming value whatsoever. A sociopath. A clever manipulator …—Louise Erdrich, New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2002Those who can't write poetry, write clever letters to the editor. Those who can't write clever letters to the editor, write angry letters to the editor.—Matt Groening, Utne Reader, November/December 1987The old lady was clever enough and he thought that if she had started from any of the right premises, more might have been expected of her.—Flannery O'Connor, Everything That Rises Must Converge, 1967
Some cats are clever enough to figure out how to operate doorknobs.
That's the cleverest idea I've heard yet!
She found a clever hiding place for the letter.
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For apartment dwellers and people who prefer not to dangle midair, this clever contraption looks like a window-cleaning game changer.—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2025 The story centers on 16-year-old Haymitch (Joseph Zada), a clever and resourceful boy from District 12, who’s unexpectedly chosen for this edition of the games, which will feature a deadly twist: twice the number of tributes, with 48 children sent into the arena to battle for their lives.—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 16 May 2025 Voyager 1 also experienced a recent data glitch caused by a faulty chip; engineers resolved this with a clever software workaround.—Victoria Corless, Space.com, 15 May 2025 Despite the tight layout, the use of space is very clever.—Adam Williams
may 14, New Atlas, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for clever
Word History
Etymology
Middle English cliver, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dialect kløver alert, skillful
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