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as in intelligent
having or showing quickness of mind a clever student figured out a trick to do the assignment faster

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clever Clothes therefore became a clever signifier that could be displayed or concealed depending on the situation. Steve Salter, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025 Major props are due to the tour’s clever production design, which has been conceived in a way that sometimes is played for broad laughs and sometimes more subtly sets up the themes of the material without the band members having to talk so much. Chris Willman, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025 However, their clever scheme hits a snag when Nick’s glamorous fiancée, Meredith Blake (Elaine Hendrix), enters the picture. Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025 But thanks to a clever design feature of the market rules for tickets, on a typical day, most people don’t line up until around eight or nine in the morning. Big Think, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for clever
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clever
Adjective
  • Neither built around the traditional J-pop structure of A-melody/B-melody/chorus nor modeled after the Western verse/chorus format, the track’s composition feels innovative — offering a glimpse into an entirely new dimension of pop.
    Billboard Japan, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Producers can earn buttons for every sincere step taken toward improving their forest sourcing practices—from adopting strong policies to investing in innovative, next-generation materials.
    Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The latest entry, 2023's Galactic Civilizations IV, has the most sophisticated AI of the lot, making your allies and enemies feel more real, and more intelligent.
    Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025
  • That kind of emotionally intelligent way of working was not seen as one of the old Victoria’s Secret’s strong points.
    Evan Clark, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Norris portrays the cunning and relentless Chief Dennison, with Tripp as Liz Bradley, a border patrol agent with a true-north moral compass, in her first major film role.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Maigret must outwit some of Paris’s most cunning and violent criminals, while dealing with his own troubled past.
    Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Its blend of Korean folklore, witty humor, and irresistibly infectious pop songs has cemented it as an instant classic.
    Kara Nesvig, Parents, 17 Oct. 2025
  • She’s perhaps best known as playing the witty, independent, and fiercely loyal friend and business woman Samantha Jones.
    Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • My Chef in Crime is an extraordinary concept that brings together two of Thailand’s biggest passions — food and drama — through an inventive crime narrative.
    Sara Merican, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Byun’s visual playfulness is likewise compelling enough to compensate for the shortcuts in his storytelling — active camerawork and inventive CGI combine with Jo Hyoung-rae’s heightened cinematography to imbue the film’s airplane cabins and flight control towers with a vivid sense of theatricality.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In all, there will be 75 artists and collaborators filling 12,500 square feet of interior space with imaginative activities.
    Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
  • By posing bold, imaginative, and sometimes unconventional questions, people can push AI beyond predictable patterns and uncover insights that would otherwise remain hidden.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Most successful forgers were smart and creative people, and many of their forgeries were consummate, even ingenious.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
  • What to know about the 'smart wall' at the Arizona border.
    Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The change in environment prompted some humorous speculation from commenters about how the new stairs might affect the cat's health.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Cooper gets considerable humorous mileage out of his goofy stoner role, starting with a guffaw-inducing pratfall entrance involving an exploding carton of oat milk.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Clever.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clever. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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