Genius

//ˈd͡ʒiː.ni.əs// adj, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Ingenious, brilliant, very clever, or original. informal

    "What a genius idea!"

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art, etc. countable

    "She's a genius; she won a Nobel Prize at fifteen!"

  2. 2
    unusual mental ability wordnet
  3. 3
    Extraordinary mental capacity. uncountable

    "Excuse, therefore, the shortcomings of genius under the sudorific influence of the summer solstice; for be assured that the vertical sun, however it may dulcify and mature cherries, plums, and other fruitful ‘plumpitudes,’ is by no means favorable to the development of intellectual products."

  4. 4
    a natural talent wordnet
  5. 5
    Inspiration, a mental leap, an extraordinary creative process. uncountable

    "a work of genius"

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    exceptional creative ability wordnet
  2. 7
    The tutelary deity or spirit of a place or person. Roman, also, countable, figuratively

    "and the genius of the place: the growing enthusiasm for codified standards in the Army and Navy"

  3. 8
    someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field wordnet
  4. 9
    someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin genius (“inborn nature; a tutelary deity of a person or place; wit, brilliance”), from gignō (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of genio. See also genus and genie.

Etymology 2

From Latin genius (“inborn nature; a tutelary deity of a person or place; wit, brilliance”), from gignō (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of genio. See also genus and genie.

Next best steps

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: genius