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Antonyms for clever

Grammar : Adj
Spell : klev-er
Phonetic Transcription : ˈklɛv ər

Definition of clever

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.
  • adj bright, ingenious
Example sentences :
  • I wouldn't attempt to be, I am not clever or popular enough.
  • Extract from : « Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus » by Jessie Graham Flower
  • All this is mere rhetoric, and full of clever self-excusing.
  • Extract from : « The Man Shakespeare » by Frank Harris
  • He is the son of a clever doctor, and the marriage will take place in four days.
  • Extract from : « The Imaginary Invalid » by Molire
  • I hadn't supposed him clever enough to guess what I was thinking.
  • Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark
  • If he were as clever as he is honest, he wouldn't have been stuck with a horse like Lauzanne.
  • Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser
  • There's somebody behind that damned Langdon—he's not clever enough for all this.
  • Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser
  • There was no pleasure in watching their clever manipulation of the little, steel hook.
  • Extract from : « Chip, of the Flying U » by B. M. Bower
  • He was clever with his pencil, and could seize a likeness with astonishing rapidity.
  • Extract from : « Heroes of the Telegraph » by J. Munro
  • Bedr had been clever in enlisting the girls' sympathy for his soul.
  • Extract from : « It Happened in Egypt » by C. N. Williamson
  • "Perhaps, as they're so clever they'll be clever enough not to arrive at all," was my suggestion.
  • Extract from : « It Happened in Egypt » by C. N. Williamson

Synonyms for clever

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