clever
2 ENTRIES FOUND:
cleverer;
cleverest
cleverer;
cleverest
Britannica Dictionary definition of CLEVER
[also more clever; most clever]
1
:
intelligent and able to learn things quickly
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A few clever [=smart, bright] students have started a business recycling old computers.
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Some cats are clever enough to figure out how to operate doorknobs.
2
:
showing intelligent thinking
— often used in a joking or ironic way to describe a foolish idea, action, etc.
-
a clever design/invention
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That's the cleverest idea I've heard yet!
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She found a clever hiding place for the letter.
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Whose clever idea was it to leave the window open?
3
:
funny in a way that shows intelligence
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I enjoyed the play's clever [=witty] dialogue.
4
British, informal
:
talking in a rude way that is meant to show you are smart
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Don't you start getting clever [=(US) fresh] with me! [=don't speak to me in a disrespectful way]
5
:
good at doing things with your hands
:
skillful
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Even as a little boy playing with blocks he was clever with his hands.
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a clever machinist
6
British, informal
— used in various negative expressions to suggest that someone is not feeling well
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I'd had a few drinks and wasn't feeling very clever.
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For someone who hasn't been feeling too clever lately, he just played a great round of golf.
too clever by half
chiefly British, informal
:
clever in a way that is annoying or that causes problems
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an arrogant politician who is too clever by half
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a complex computer program that is too clever by half
— cleverly
adverb-
a cleverly designed gadget
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cleverly written dialogue
— cleverness
noun [noncount]-
the cleverness of the idea
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a cat's cleverness
