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GRE vocabulary

ingenious

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore I words

marked by cleverness and original invention

Word origin: From Latin ingenium, natural talent.

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In a sentence

Ingenious in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing ingenious in a sentence.

She devised an ingenious solution that no one else had considered.

The engineer devised an ingenious mechanism that converted the building's vibrations into usable electricity.

Synonyms
cleverinventiveresourcefulshrewd
Antonyms
unimaginativeclumsy

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Verbal · Text Completion

Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “ingenious” well

Ingenious praises clever, original invention. Do not confuse it with ingenuous, which means innocent and frank; the two are easily mixed up.

Common questions

Questions about “ingenious”

Ingenious (adjective) means marked by cleverness and original invention
Here is ingenious used in an example sentence: "She devised an ingenious solution that no one else had considered." Another example: "The engineer devised an ingenious mechanism that converted the building's vibrations into usable electricity."
Common synonyms for ingenious include clever, inventive, resourceful, shrewd.
Antonyms of ingenious include unimaginative, clumsy.
Ingenious clusters with clever, inventive, resourceful, and shrewd. Its antonyms unimaginative and clumsy mark the contrast; the look-alike ingenuous is a classic trap.
Yes. Ingenious is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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