ingenuity

/ˈɪndʒəˌnuədi/

/ɪndʒɪˈnjuɪti/

Other forms: ingenuities

Ingenuity is the ability to think creatively about a situation or to solve problems in a clever way. If you want to build a boat out of toothpicks and yarn, you’ll need a lot of ingenuity.

The Latin word for “mind, intellect” is a root of ingenuity, and it takes a bright and fast-thinking intellect to use ingenuity in a situation. Athletes show ingenuity all the time, finding exciting ways to outwit their opponents and to achieve victory. Master criminals rely on their ingenuity in order to evade the law when they are chased. Ingenuity is all about imagination, and an imaginative mind knows that every obstacle can be overcome with a little ingenuity.

Definitions of ingenuity

1. noun

   the power of creative imagination
   synonyms: cleverness, ingeniousness, inventiveness

   types:

   imagination, resource, resourcefulness

   the ability to deal resourcefully with unusual problems

   armory, armoury, inventory

   a collection of resources

   type of:

   creative thinking, creativeness, creativity

   the ability to create
2. noun

   the property of being ingenious
   “a plot of great ingenuity”

   synonyms: cleverness, ingeniousness

   type of:

   high quality, superiority

   the quality of being superior