What does "clever" mean?
Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
Clever
/ˈklɛv.ə/ adj, name, slang
adj, name, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
- Grammar: clever is listed as adj, name, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cunning, ingenious, able, acrobatic.
- Useful contrasts: antonym(s) of, clumsy, dull.
- Usage evidence: You are too clever not to solve the hard problem.
How to use "clever"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clever" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clever" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clever" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clever" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clever" is acting as adj, name, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cunning" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clever", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
"My dad is quite clever with his hands, especially at carpentry."
- 2 Quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.
"The cleverest and most prolific inventors, such as Reiner Knizia (who lives in England) are nerdy superstars. Euro (also “German-style”) games must not be confused with “Ameritrash” games, which generally involve high drama and employ plastic pieces, though arguing over what the difference is seems to be gamers' second-favourite pastime."
- 3 Mentally quick and resourceful; skilled at achieving what one wants in a mentally agile and inventive way.
"clever like a fox"
- 4 Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.
"And so make life, death, and that vast forever / One grand, sweet song."
- 5 Sane; in one's right mind. archaic
"He was not clever, poor fellow, he did not know what questions to ask; he asked the same questions again and again. He continued to show his own troubled thoughts, and the vague dread in his mind, […]"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Showing mental quickness and resourcefulness.
"This is a simple but clever trick to solve the problem."
- 7 Showing inventiveness or originality; witty.
"Mr. Woodhouse was almost as much interested in the business as the girls, and tried very often to recollect something worth their putting in. "So many clever riddles as there used to be when he was young--he wondered he could not remember them! but he hoped he should in time." And it always ended in "Kitty, a fair but frozen maid.""
- 8 Fit and healthy; free from fatigue or illness. UK, colloquial
"But at that moment I knew it was all over for me, I had never thought that this day would come, but it had and I was not feeling too clever. In fact I had to escape to a nearby toilet to be sick."
- 9 Good-natured; obliging. US, dated
- 10 Possessing magical abilities.
"When a clever man is out hunting and comes across the tracks of, say, a kangaroo, he follows them along and talks to the footprints all the time for the purpose of injecting magic into the animal which made them."
- 11 Fit; suitable; having propriety. obsolete
"18th c, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope (later lines), Imitation of Horace, 1852, Charles Knight (collator), Half-hours with the Best Authors, Volume 4, page 188, I can't but think 'twould sound more clever, To me and to my heirs forever."
- 12 Well-shaped; handsome. obsolete
"Tho' the Girl vvas a tight, clever VVench as any vvas, and thro' her pale Looks, you might diſcern Spirit and Vivacity, vvhich made her not indeed a perfect Beauty, but ſomething that vvas agreeable."
Adjective
- 1 showing inventiveness and skill wordnet
- 2 showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others wordnet
- 3 mentally quick and resourceful wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A city in Missouri.
Antonyms
Example
"You are too clever not to solve the hard problem."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clever"?
Common synonyms include: cunning, ingenious, able, acrobatic, acute, adept.
How do you use "clever" in a sentence?
You are too clever not to solve the hard problem.
How do you pronounce "clever"?
Pronounced /ˈklɛv.ə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
* Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)