Antonyms for cleverness

Grammar : Noun

Spell : klev-er

Phonetic Transcription : ˈklɛv ər

Definition of cleverness

Origin : 1580s, "handy, dexterous," apparently from East Anglian dialectal cliver "expert at seizing," perhaps from East Frisian klüfer "skillful," or Norwegian dialectic klover "ready, skillful," and perhaps influenced by Old English clifer "claw, hand" (early usages seem to refer to dexterity). Or perhaps akin to Old Norse kleyfr "easy to split" and from a root related to cleave "to split." Extension to intellect is first recorded 1704.
This is a low word, scarcely ever used but in burlesque or conversation; and applied to any thing a man likes, without a settled meaning. [Johnson, 1755]
The meaning has narrowed since, but clever also often in old use and dialect meant "well-shaped, attractive-looking" and in 19c. American English sometimes "good-natured, agreeable." Related: Cleverly; cleverness.

noun brightness, ingenuity

Example sentences :

Often enough these innovations were not due to the cleverness of man's brain.
Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon

After all, Mary was only a woman, despite her cleverness, and with all a woman's timidity.
Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana

"That's just where your cleverness will come in," suavely answered Crane.
Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser

And by Jupiter, with a kind of cleverness in him too that would astonish you!'
Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens

This woman enjoyed the same sort of exultation in her own cleverness.
Extract from : « Roden's Corner » by Henry Seton Merriman

He felt that he was apart because he was clever, as if his cleverness caused loneliness.
Extract from : « A Spirit in Prison » by Robert Hichens

It's only your ignorance and your jealousy of his cleverness.
Extract from : « People of Position » by Stanley Portal Hyatt

Then he talked for half an hour about the cleverness of Mrs. Carriswood.
Extract from : « Stories of a Western Town » by Octave Thanet

And is not shrewdness a quickness or cleverness of the soul, and not a quietness?
Extract from : « Charmides » by Plato

Is it a sagacity or cleverness, a height of learning, a result of close study?
Extract from : « The Romance of the Soul » by Lilian Staveley

Synonyms for cleverness

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019