Definition of CLEVER

clever

Adjective Satellite

  • showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
    • "too clever to be sound"
  • mentally quick and resourceful; ; -Bram Stoker
    • "you are a clever man...you reason well and your wit is bold"
  • showing inventiveness and skill
    • "a clever gadget"

Adj

  • Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
  • Quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.
  • Mentally quick and resourceful; skilled at achieving what one wants in a mentally agile and inventive way.
  • Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.
  • Sane; in one's right mind.
  • Showing mental quickness and resourcefulness.
  • Showing inventiveness or originality; witty.
  • Fit and healthy; free from fatigue or illness.
  • Good-natured; obliging.
  • Possessing magical abilities.
  • Fit; suitable; having propriety.
  • Well-shaped; handsome.

Adjective

  • Quick to learn and understand; intelligent and resourceful.

Examples

  • clever like a fox
  • It was a CLEVER move to block his opponent’s potential triple word score.
  • This is a simple but clever trick to solve the problem.
  • With a clever lawyer, she could easily be acquitted.

Origin / Etymology

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliver (“tenacious”).
* perhaps from Old English *clifer, clibbor (“clinging”);
* or perhaps from Dutch, Low German, or East/Saterland Frisian (compare kluftich (“clever, prudent”), probably derived from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban (“to cleave, split”));
* or dialectal Norwegian klover (“ready, skillful”), itself borrowed from Middle Low German klever, related to kleven (“to stick”), from Old Saxon klibōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, related to the Old English word above;
* possibly influenced by Old English clifer (“claw, hand”) (compare clawian (“to claw”)).
Related to cleave. Perhaps influenced by Welsh celfydd (“talented, dexterous, expert”).

Synonyms

apt, cagey, cagy, canny, cunning, ingenious, adroit, magical, street-smart, talented

Antonyms

antonym(s) of, clumsy, dull, ineffectual, naive, stupid

Scrabble Score: 11

clever: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
clever: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
clever: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

clever: valid Words With Friends Word