1
as in inventive
having the skill and imagination to create new things
an ingenious but rather eccentric inventor
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2
as in clever
showing a noteworthy use of the imagination and creativity especially in inventing
a chair that can't tip over is quite ingenious
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Recent Examples of ingenious
Scientists have found a new way to cheat the system – which is both ingenious and disturbing.
—
Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
If someone discovers an ingenious algorithm for rapidly solving the hardest NP problems, the bedrock will crumble, and the whole tower will collapse.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 25 July 2025
An ingenious gang of master jewel thieves from Italy, known as ‘The School of Turin’, were eventually revealed to be behind the audacious heist.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 July 2025
The Latimer House is the place where captured high-ranking German officers unwittingly gave up their secrets like those pertaining to Hitler’s V-1 and 2-2 rockets to ingenious British and American operatives near the end of the Second World War.
—Margo T. Oge, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ingenious
Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
If someone discovers an ingenious algorithm for rapidly solving the hardest NP problems, the bedrock will crumble, and the whole tower will collapse.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 25 July 2025
An ingenious gang of master jewel thieves from Italy, known as ‘The School of Turin’, were eventually revealed to be behind the audacious heist.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 July 2025
The Latimer House is the place where captured high-ranking German officers unwittingly gave up their secrets like those pertaining to Hitler’s V-1 and 2-2 rockets to ingenious British and American operatives near the end of the Second World War.
—Margo T. Oge, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ingenious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ingenious
Adjective
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Numan’s career was a tumultuous one, defined in turns by inventive highs and long periods outside of the public eye.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
12 Aug. 2025
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Entrées are just as innovative and might swing from lamb belly to halibut with sausage made of Royal Red shrimp, and inventive desserts like movie-popcorn-butter ice cream.—
Mike Jordan,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The most memorable of those came against Sheffield United, with two blockers at the near post (marked in white) and two runners from deep (black) allowing Pascal Struijk (yellow) to score from Joe Rothwell’s clever corner.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
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That the style of Beto’s documentary is so jumpy didn’t help, either, however clever the idea of making his film an episode unto itself.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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On the other hand, repression negatively affects long-term growth by absorbing bank financing that could be going to the innovative firms in the private sector.—
Kenneth S. Rogoff,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
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Senior executive with deep expertise in complex networks and innovative service delivery.—
Glenn Katz,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Washington’s invigorating performance goes far beyond charisma and technique to enrich the role with an imaginative repertory of seemingly spontaneous gestures: a chilling series of gun-pointing fingers when in doubt; the removal of a diamond earring at a point of financial need.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
15 Aug. 2025
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Spark’s new boss was a wildly imaginative and very demanding foreign correspondent of Falstaffian proportions named Sefton Delmer.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
10 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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From 1993 to 2013, creative diplomacy helped achieve nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses simultaneously through the Megatons to Megawatts program.—
Charles Oppenheimer,
Time,
17 Aug. 2025
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This hip and colorful art cafe is a great spot to grab lunch and get creative.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
17 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ingenious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenious. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.
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