Ingenuity Meaning
/ˌɪnd͡ʒəˈn(j)uːəti/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe ability to solve difficult problems in original, clever, and inventive ways; ingeniousness.
nounAn ingenuous action or thought.
Sentence Examples
It is nothing that a little persistence and ingenuity can't overcome.
I admire their ingenuity.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The child showed great ____ by building a robot from old toys.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The engineers showed great ____ in designing a bridge that could withstand strong earthquakes.
Word Origin & History
From Latin ingenuitās.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Half the ingenuity lavished on news—by news we mean the topics of the day as connected with their own circle—half this ingenuity would set up a whole Society of Antiquaries, and immortalise at least a dozen of them."
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 189:
"The heavy freight traffic which shares the double line between Paddington and Wolverhampton with the passenger traffic has taxed the ingenuity of the timetable planners."
— 1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 103:
"Virility is sustained, preserved, even recaptured, by man's ingenuities, by exotic foods and drinks, by rare herbal compounds, by fantastical manipulations, goetic periapts."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
"And therefore I apply my selfe to ingenuitie, and ever to speake truth and what I think[…]."
— 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The child showed great ____ by building a robot from old toys.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The engineers showed great ____ in designing a bridge that could withstand strong earthquakes.