Question 1 · Quick check
clever
CEFRA1
/ˈklɛv.ə/
adjective
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
adjective
Quick to learn, understand, or solve problems.
- 02
adjective
Extra detailMentally quick and resourceful; skilled at achieving what one wants in a mentally agile and inventive way.
Examples
He was far from clever in his school days.
You are too clever not to solve the hard problem.
At a glance
Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 5
- Synonyms
- 5
Deep Dive
adjective
Extra meaningsQuick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.
Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.
More examples
In contextMy dad is quite clever with his hands, especially at carpentry.
a. 1898, Francis James Child (collator), Child's Ballads, 198: "Bonny John Seton", The Highland men, they're clever men At handling sword and shield,
clever like a fox
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
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Nearby
Origin
adjective
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 b...