genius

noun ge·nius \ ˈjēn-yəs , ˈjē-nē-əs \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

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Examples: genius in a Sentence

Editor's Note: The Spiritual Origins of genius

Definition of genius

plural geniuses or genii play \ˈjē-nē-ˌī\

1 a plural genii : an attendant spirit of a person or place

b plural usually genii : a person who influences another for good or bad

He has been accused of being his brother's evil genius.

2 : a strong leaning or inclination : penchant

3 a : a peculiar, distinctive, or identifying character or spirit

the genius of our democratic government

b : the associations and traditions of a place

c : a personification or embodiment especially of a quality or condition

4 plural usually genii : spirit, jinni

5 plural usually geniuses

a : a single strongly marked capacity or aptitude

had a genius for getting along with boys
—Mary Ross

b : extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity

c : a person endowed with extraordinary mental superiority; especially : a person with a very high IQ

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Examples of genius in a Sentence

Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were great scientific geniuses.
You don't have to be a genius to see that this plan will never work.
He was a genius at handling the press.
She's now widely recognized as an artist of genius.
He's admired for his comic genius.
My plan is simple—that's the genius of it.
The genius of these new computers is their portability.

Recent Examples of genius from the Web

Too many people think that great victories came from pure genius.

— charlotteobserver, "Ashley Christensen," 5 June 2018
Kennesaw State University will be welcoming the young genius in the fall, where McKenzie will study biochemistry.

— Essence.com, "We Can't Stop Clapping! 14-Year-Old Graduates From High School And College On The Same Day," 4 June 2018
What set Hitler apart from most authoritarian figures in history was his conception of himself as an artist-genius who used politics as his métier.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "How American Racism Influenced Hitler," 23 Apr. 2018
Rush gives a great performance as the frenetic genius riddled with self-doubt and self-absorption.

— michael heaton, cleveland.com, "'Final Portrait' is a picture of Paris in the '60s (review)," 20 Apr. 2018
As an aside: This strikes me as a genius setting for bringing up pretty much any potentially uncomfortable conversation.

— carolyn todd, Glamour, "How to Have the 'Get Tested' Talk With No Drama," 19 Apr. 2018
The Parkland students and their March for Our Lives rallies are indicative of a real-world youth revolt, and Shuri reflects that as a scene-stealing genius who leads the advancement of an entire nation.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "'Black Panther': 5 lessons we learned from the Marvel phenom's amazing run," 22 Mar. 2018
That's all alarming, yes, but here’s a fun fact: The movie was codenamed Red Cup during production, and some genius at Lucasfilm has parlayed that into an actual partnership with the Solo cup brand.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "Wait, What Is This Other Star Wars Movie?," 9 Mar. 2018
In that, and that alone, Adams’s genius was essential.

— michael brendan dougherty, National Review, "What Gerry Adams Leaves Behind," 10 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'genius.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Spiritual Origins of genius

The belief system of the ancient Romans included spirits that were somewhere in between gods and humans and were thought to accompany each person through life as a protector. The Latin name for this spirit was genius, which came from the verb gignere, meaning "to beget." This sense of "attendant spirit" was first borrowed into English in the 14th century. Part of such a spirit's role was to protect a person's moral character, and from that idea an extended sense developed in the 16th century meaning "an identifying character." In time, that meaning was extended to cover a special ability for doing something, and eventually genius acquired senses referring particularly to "very great intelligence" and "people of great intelligence."

Origin and Etymology of genius

Latin, tutelary spirit, natural inclinations, from gignere to beget

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

genius Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of genius

gift, faculty, aptitude, bent, talent, genius, knack mean a special ability for doing something. gift often implies special favor by God or nature.

- the gift of singing beautifully

faculty applies to an innate or less often acquired ability for a particular accomplishment or function.

- a faculty for remembering names

aptitude implies a natural liking for some activity and the likelihood of success in it.

- a mechanical aptitude

bent is nearly equal to aptitude but it stresses inclination perhaps more than specific ability.

- a family with an artistic bent

talent suggests a marked natural ability that needs to be developed.

- has enough talent to succeed

genius suggests impressive inborn creative ability.

- has no great genius for poetry

knack implies a comparatively minor but special ability making for ease and dexterity in performance.

- the knack of getting along

GENIUS Defined for English Language Learners

genius

noun

Definition of genius for English Language Learners

: a very smart or talented person : a person who has a level of talent or intelligence that is very rare or remarkable
: a person who is very good at doing something
: great natural ability : remarkable talent or intelligence