Synonyms of clever

clever

adjective

ˈkle-vər 

1

as in innovative

showing a noteworthy use of the imagination and creativity especially in inventing

an inventor who was constantly coming up with clever devices for doing everyday chores

Synonyms & Similar Words

• innovative
• imaginative
• inventive
• creative
• ingenious
• useful
• practical
• artful
• sophisticated
• convenient
• intelligent
• handy
• smart
• neat
• original
• adventurous
• novel
• fresh
• complex
• expert
• visionary
• nifty
• gimmicky
• adroit
• tricky
• deft
• groundbreaking
• handsome
• dexterous
• cleverish
• gadgety
• brainy
• sharp

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unimaginative
• uncreative
• dull
• pedantic
• stodgy
• derivative
• pedestrian
• useless
• hackneyed
• impractical
• unoriginal
• canned
• assembly-line
• cookie-cutter

2

as in intelligent

having or showing quickness of mind

a clever student figured out a trick to do the assignment faster

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intelligent
• smart
• quick
• brilliant
• fast
• exceptional
• sharp
• bright
• keen
• wise
• skilled
• nimble
• educated
• cunning
• quick-witted
• brainy
• alert
• ingenious
• supersmart
• sharp-witted
• resourceful
• creative
• sensible
• astute
• ultrasmart
• insightful
• learned
• hyperintelligent
• literate
• savvy
• apt
• perceptive
• sagacious
• acute
• inventive
• cerebral
• logical
• schooled
• erudite
• knowledgeable
• prudent
• informed
• judicious
• knowing
• reasonable
• scholarly
• trained
• perspicacious
• shrewd
• discerning
• wily
• rational
• sound
• crafty
• heady
• genial
• sane
• highbrow
• well-read
• sapient
• sage
• percipient
• foxy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simple
• stupid
• dumb
• slow
• obtuse
• dense
• fatuous
• unintelligent
• opaque
• dopey
• vacuous
• soft
• thick
• dull
• mindless
• witless
• senseless
• brainless
• doltish
• dim
• brain-dead
• boneheaded
• thickheaded
• dunderheaded
• weak-minded
• silly
• dorky
• simpleminded
• foolish
• idiotic
• pinheaded
• softheaded
• feebleminded
• moronic
• dim-witted
• lamebrain
• gormless
• imbecile
• empty-headed
• ignorant
• unsmart
• slow-witted
• unbrilliant
• knuckleheaded
• lunkheaded
• half-witted
• airheaded
• bubbleheaded
• chuckleheaded
• thick-witted
• uneducated
• uninformed
• illiterate
• birdbrained
• absurd
• unthinking
• zany
• wacky
• mad
• crazy
• insane
• unwise
• unintellectual
• untaught
• preposterous
• lowbrow
• nonsensical
• kooky
• unacademic
• daft
• nonintellectual
• nutty
• fool
• loony
• asinine
• harebrained
• cuckoo
• daffy
• dippy
• sappy
• half-baked
• dotty
• screwball
• balmy
• cockeyed
• boobish
• crackpot
• tomfool
• featherheaded

3

as in cunning

skillful with the hands

the Shakers were clever artisans who created many ingenious and highly useful devices

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cunning
• skilled
• skillful
• handy
• deft
• capable
• dexterous
• proficient
• graceful
• adept
• agile
• competent
• nimble
• able
• limber
• expert
• coordinated
• flexible
• masterful
• spry
• qualified
• masterly
• lithe
• lithesome
• lissome
• sure-handed
• habile
• loose-jointed
• double-jointed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unhandy
• clumsy
• wooden
• heavy-handed
• awkward
• uncomfortable
• handless
• uneasy
• ungainly
• stiff
• gauche
• stilted
• gawky
• ungraceful
• klutzy
• graceless
• fumbling
• ham-fisted
• ham-handed
• rough-hewn
• uncoordinated
• incompetent
• incapable
• butterfingered
• inept
• bungling
• inexpert
• maladroit

4

as in witty

given to or marked by mature intelligent humor

a clever joke that requires a little bit of thought on the part of the listener

Synonyms & Similar Words

• witty
• humorous
• funny
• smart
• playful
• jocular
• amusing
• facetious
• joking
• mischievous
• ridiculous
• entertaining
• cerebral
• comical
• comic
• intellectual
• hysterical
• ludicrous
• frivolous
• highbrow
• droll
• teasing
• laughable
• farcical
• merry
• riotous
• uproarious
• laughing
• jolly
• whimsical
• jovial
• risible
• antic
• rollicking
• mirthful
• waggish
• flippant
• jocose
• screaming
• jesting
• bantering
• prankish
• highbrowed
• sidesplitting
• flip
• sparkling
• diverting
• sunny
• joshing
• jocund
• scintillating
• pert
• smart-aleck
• smart-alecky

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stupid
• witless
• lame
• brainless
• hackneyed
• lowbrow
• corny
• serious
• humorless
• unfunny
• earnest
• hackney
• solemn
• sober
• somber
• serious-minded
• grave
• unamusing
• sorry
• plaintive
• doleful
• woeful
• tearful
• dolorous
• lachrymose
• uncomic

5

as in inventive

having the skill and imagination to create new things

I wonder what clever person thought of the digital camera

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inventive
• innovative
• creative
• imaginative
• talented
• innovational
• ingenious
• gifted
• prolific
• original
• originative
• innovatory
• inspired
• resourceful
• Promethean
• generative
• fertile
• fruitful
• productive
• fecund
• germinal

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unimaginative
• unoriginal
• uncreative
• imitative
• uninspired
• unproductive
• uninventive
• infertile
• talentless

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective clever differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of clever are adroit, cunning, and ingenious. While all these words mean "having or showing practical wit or skill in contriving," clever stresses physical or mental quickness, deftness, or great aptitude.

a person clever with horses

When might adroit be a better fit than clever?

The words adroit and clever can be used in similar contexts, but adroit often implies a skillful use of expedients to achieve one's purpose in spite of difficulties.

an adroit negotiator

Where would cunning be a reasonable alternative to clever?

The meanings of cunning and clever largely overlap; however, cunning implies great skill in constructing or creating.

a filmmaker cunning in his use of special effects

When is it sensible to use ingenious instead of clever?

While the synonyms ingenious and clever are close in meaning, ingenious suggests the power of inventing or discovering a new way of accomplishing something.

an ingenious software engineer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of clever

The dichotomy of 007, suited and booted in one moment and throwing himself into danger the next, requires shape-shifting abilities, something that is naturally applicable to the clever casting of an unknown actor. — Emily Maskell, IndieWire, 10 July 2026

What used to be a forum for original, quirky, clever remarks by the Daily News’ varied community of smartypants has turned into a gridlock of repetitious venting of old, dumb blah. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026

The organizations getting durable value from AI are not those with the cleverest models, but those that did the unglamorous work of making the enterprise coherent enough to use them. — Frank Carnevale, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

So began a clever tradition in which clothes dryers, rotisserie ovens, popcorn machines and other gadgets replaced the bassist’s conventional amp stacks. — Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026