in·ge·nu·i·ty

(ĭn′jə-no͞o′ĭ-tē, -nyo͞o′-)

n. pl. in·ge·nu·i·ties

1. Inventive skill or imagination; cleverness.

2. An ingenious or imaginative contrivance.

3. Obsolete Ingenuousness.

[Latin ingenuitās, frankness (influenced by ingenious), from ingenuus, ingenuous; see ingenuous.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ingenuity

(ˌɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. inventive talent; cleverness

2. an ingenious device, act, etc

3. archaic frankness; candour

[C16: from Latin ingenuitās a freeborn condition, outlook consistent with such a condition, from ingenuus native, freeborn (see ingenuous); meaning influenced by ingenious]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•ge•nu•i•ty

(ˌɪn dʒəˈnu ɪ ti, -ˈnyu-)

n., pl. -ties.

1. the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful.

2. cleverness or skillfulness of conception or design: a device of great ingenuity.

3. an ingenious contrivance or device.

4. Obs. ingenuousness.

[1590–1600; < Latin ingenuitās innate virtue (see ingenuous, -ity)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	ingenuity - the power of creative imagination cleverness, ingeniousness, inventiveness creative thinking, creativeness, creativity - the ability to create resourcefulness, imagination, resource - the ability to deal resourcefully with unusual problems; "a man of resource"
	2.	ingenuity - the property of being ingenious; "a plot of great ingenuity"; "the cleverness of its design" ingeniousness, cleverness high quality, superiority - the quality of being superior

ingenuity

noun originality, genius, inventiveness, skill, gift, faculty, flair, knack, sharpness, cleverness, resourcefulness, shrewdness, adroitness, ingeniousness This task is difficult and may require some ingenuity.
incompetence, ineptitude, dullness, clumsiness, ineptness

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ingenuity

noun

The power or ability to invent:

creativeness, creativity, ingeniousness, invention, inventiveness, originality.

Translations

إبْداع، دَهاء

důmyslnost

genialitetopfindsomhed

Erfindungsgabe

ingenio

nerokkuusnokkeluus

ingéniosité

snilli, hugvitssemi

ingegnosit...ingegnosità ingenuità

genialitet kunstferdighet

dômyselnosť

hüner marifet

智巧独创性

ingenuity

[ˌɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ] N [of person] → ingenio m, inventiva f; [of idea, scheme] → lo ingenioso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ingenuity

[ˌɪndʒəˈnjuːɪti] n → ingéniosité f
ingenuity in doing sth → l'ingéniosité dont on fait preuve pour faire qch
his ingenuity in finding new ways to make money → l'ingéniosité dont il fait preuve pour trouver de nouveaux moyens de faire de l'argent

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ingenuity

n → Genialität f; (of person also) → Einfallsreichtum m, → Findigkeit f; (of idea, method also) → Brillanz f; (of device, instrument also) → Raffiniertheit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ingenuity

[ˌɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ] n → ingegnosità

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

ingenious

(inˈdʒiːnjəs) adjective

1. (of a person or his personality etc) clever at inventing. He was ingenious at making up new games for the children.

2. (of an object or idea) cleverly made or thought out. an ingenious plan/machine.

inˈgeniously adverb

inˈgeniousness noun

ingenuity (indʒəˈnjuəti) noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Like his younger brother Henry, he had increased his pecuniary resources by his own enterprise and ingenuity; with this difference, that his speculations were connected with the Arts.

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The latter are abundantly amusing, and, in view of the wonderful "travellers' tales" with which we have been entertained by African explorers, they can scarcely be considered extravagant; while the ingenuity and invention of the author will be sure to excite the surprise and the admiration of the reader, who will find M.

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This young man had been hired out by his master to work in a bagging factory, where his adroitness and ingenuity caused him to be considered the first hand in the place.

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He did his best to put obstacles in the adversary's way--and was baffled, time after time, with the readiest ingenuity. If he interrupted--the sweet-tempered clergyman submitted, and went on.

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Let a decree issue declaring ingenuity a capital offence."

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But, although the means or ingenuity of the builders did not extend so far as to provide a roof, they supplied the want by constructing apartments in the interior of the walls of the tower itself.

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In fact, so little ingenuity do they at times display in this particular, that at one of our camps on Snake River, a beaver was found with his head wedged into the cut which he had made, the tree having fallen upon him and held him prisoner until he died."

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Pleasing myself with the idea that the supposition might in part arise out of some ingenuity in the story, and thinking it worth while, in the interests of art, to hint to an audience that an artist (of whatever denomination) may perhaps be trusted to know what he is about in his vocation, if they will concede him a little patience, I was not alarmed by the anticipation.

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Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.

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He has not the sort of ingenuity to invent anything better than a Dutch toy," answered her father, who had formerly been put to much vexation by Owen Warland's irregular genius.

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After years and years of experience the most trusty instrument of the sort that ever went to sea screwed on to a ship's cabin bulkhead will, almost invariably, be induced to rise by the diabolic ingenuity of the Easterly weather, just at the moment when the Easterly weather, discarding its methods of hard, dry, impassive cruelty, contemplates drowning what is left of your spirit in torrents of a peculiarly cold and horrid rain.

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When at last we were all assembled, waiting for dinner to be announced, I reflected, while I chatted with the woman I had been asked to "take in," that civilised man practises a strange ingenuity in wasting on tedious exercises the brief span of his life.

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