Meaning

12 senses
  1. Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.

    My dad is quite clever with his hands, especially at carpentry.

    a. 1898, Francis James Child (collator), Child's Ballads, 198: "Bonny John Seton", The Highland men, they're clever men At handling sword and shield,

    geschickt, geschickt

    иску́сныйiskúsnyj, ло́вкийlóvkij, уме́лыйumélyj

    вмі́лийvmílyj, впра́внийvprávnyj, зді́бнийzdíbnyj

  2. Quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.

  3. Mentally quick and resourceful; skilled at achieving what one wants in a mentally agile and inventive way.

    clever like a fox

    With a clever lawyer, she could easily be acquitted.

    clever, ausgekocht

    mentally quick and resourceful

  4. Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.

    patent, klug, gescheit

    у́мныйúmnyj, разу́мныйrazúmnyj, хи́трыйxítryj

    розу́мнийrozúmnyj

  5. Showing mental quickness and resourcefulness.

    This is a simple but clever trick to solve the problem.

    showing inventiveness and skill

  6. Showing inventiveness or originality; witty.

    originell, raffiniert, abgedreht

    изобрета́тельныйizobretátelʹnyj

    винахі́дливийvynaxídlyvyj

  7. (UK, colloquial)Fit and healthy; free from fatigue or illness.

  8. (US, dated)Good-natured; obliging.

  9. Possessing magical abilities.

    schamanisch, zauberkundig

  10. (archaic)Sane; in one's right mind.

  11. (obsolete)Fit; suitable; having propriety.

  12. (obsolete)Well-shaped; handsome.

Examples

432 sentences
  1. Tom is a very clever boy.

    Том дуже розумний хлопчик.

    ruТом очень умный мальчик.

    deTom ist ein sehr kluger Junge.

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  2. Tom is a very clever student.

    Том дуже розумний студент.

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  3. Tom is very clever, isn't he?

    Том дуже розумний, так?

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  4. She is not pretty, to be sure, but she is very clever.

    Вона, звичайно, не дуже гарна, але вона дуже розумна.

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  5. I consider myself a clever man.

    Я вважаю себе розумною людиною.

    ruЯ считаю себя умным человеком.

    deIch betrachte mich als clever.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 4
nimble with hands or body:
skillful:
mentally quick or sharp:
things showing inventiveness or originality:
Русский
By meaning 4
nimble with hands or body:
skillful:
mentally quick or sharp:
things showing inventiveness or originality:
Deutsch
By meaning 5
nimble with hands or body:
resourceful, sometimes to the point of cunning:
mentally quick or sharp:
things showing inventiveness or originality:
possessing magical abilities:

Origin

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliv

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliver (“tenacious”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

cleverer/more clever, cleverest/most clever
Comparativecleverer / more clever Lesson
Superlativecleverest / most clever Lesson

regular

Synonyms

13 synonyms
nimble or skillful:talentedB1adroit
showing inventiveness:ingeniousC1
possessing magical powers:magicalB1crafty
resourceful, perhaps cunning:cunningstreet-smart
smart, intelligent or witty:sharp-wittedquick-witted
Close in meaning

Antonyms

6 antonyms
smart, intelligent or witty:dullB1stupidB1
resourceful, perhaps cunning:ineffectualnaiveC1
nimble or skillful:clumsyB2
antonym(s) of

Word family

16 related words

Collocations

12 patterns
  • clever boy
  • a clever boy
  • is very clever
  • a very clever
  • was clever enough
  • very clever boy
  • is a clever
  • clever enough to
  • a clever kid
  • clever enough
  • what a clever
  • clever kid

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
clever — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto