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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of clever in English

clever
adjective
uk
/ˈklev.ər/ us
/ˈklev.ɚ/
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A1
having or showing the ability to learn and understand things quickly and easily:
Judy has never been very clever, but she tries hard.
clever at UK Fiona is very clever at physics.
clever plan Charlie has a clever plan for getting us out of our present difficulties.
clever idea It's a really clever idea but I don't think his boss is going to go for it.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
intelligent
  • intelligentHe seems like a very intelligent young man.
  • cleverI'm the cleverest kid in the class.
  • smartShe's incredibly smart and a great writer.
  • brightJacob was a very bright boy.
  • sharpHow can we stay mentally sharp as we age?
See more results »
skilful:
clever at Online scammers are clever at getting people to fall for their tricks.
clever with My mother is very clever with her hands.
B1
well-designed:
I've got a clever little gadget for opening jars.
mainly UK disapproving
showing intelligence, but not sincere, polite, or serious:
clever talk That's enough clever talk, young lady.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Intelligence
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Idioms

be too clever by half
clever dick/clogs
(Definition of clever from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

clever | American Dictionary

clever
adjective
us
/ˈklev·ər/
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having or showing a quick intelligence in doing something or in persuading people to do something:
It was certainly a clever ad and got a lot of attention.

cleverly

adverb us
/ˈklev·ər·li/
Did you notice how she cleverly avoided answering most of my questions?
(Definition of clever from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of clever

clever
I take quite a contrary view to those who believe that the silly-clevers are in touch with reality.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The tale may be recommended as one of the cleverest and most original of its kind.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
There are those who are lucky or clever enough to possess dollars.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The contributors, therefore, are extremely clever in digging out materials to illuminate the topic.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The reason for the remarkable popularity of the plan is that it is simple, yet quite clever.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The physical elements of the design are elegant and the durable casing of the sound components requiring no power or maintenance is clever and practical.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Line for line, this has to be one of the cleverest series on television today.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
The algorithm is quite clever, simple and general.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
A lot of information, different points of view and really clever thoughts are gathered in one place.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Others are clever they smile and laugh letting their twinkling manner guide a probing eye away.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Clever solutions to the design of sheet metal components can both reduce manufacturing time and energy and result in high quality components.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The music is mercurial, humorous and very clever.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Unfortunately, the author cannot resist making 'clever ' remarks, even when these are forced and detract from his substantive arguments.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
He is surrounded by characters more flamboyant, ambitious, egotistical and (in their own estimation) much cleverer than he.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
The editors have assembled a collection of very substantial papers in which extensive databases, sophisticated statistical analyses, and clever theoretical interpretations are abundantly present.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
See all examples of clever
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of clever?
 

Translations of clever

in Chinese (Traditional)
聰明的, 伶俐的, 機靈的…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
聪明的, 伶俐的, 机灵的…
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in Spanish
listo, hábil, insolente…
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in Portuguese
inteligente, espertinho, espertalhão…
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in Ukrainian
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in Bengali
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in Italian
हुषार, तल्लख, चटपटीत…
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頭のいい, （考え方などが）巧みな, 巧妙（こうみょう）な…
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akıllı, zekî, zekice ve etkin olarak tasarlanmış…
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malin/-igne, astucieux/-euse, ingénieux/-euse…
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llest, enginyós, destre…
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verstandig, vaardig, slim…
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விஷயங்களை விரைவாகவும் எளிதாகவும் கற்றுக் கொள்ளும் மற்றும் புரிந்துகொள்ளும் திறனைக் கொண்டிருப்பது அல்லது காண்பிப்பது, நன்கு வடிவமைக்கப்பட்ட, புத்திசாலித்தனத்தைக் காண்பித்தல்…
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चतुर, होशियार, बढ़िया…
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બુધ્ધિશાળી, હોંશિયાર, ચાતુર્યપૂર્ણ બનાવટ…
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klog, dygtig, begavet…
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begåvad, intelligent, skicklig…
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pintar, pandai, bernas…
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gescheit, geschickt, raffiniert…
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lur, dyktig, smart…
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تیز فہم, چالاک, ہوشیار…
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розумний, здібний, вправний…
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తెలివైన, చక్కగా రూపొందించిన, చాతుర్యం…
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চালাক, চতুর, দ্রুত এবং সহজে বুঝতে ও শিখতে সক্ষম যিনি…
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chytrý, zručný, znamenitý…
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pintar, pandai, trampil…
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เฉลียวฉลาด, ชานำญ, ซึ่งเฉลียวฉลาด…
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thông minh, khéo léo, nhanh trí…
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zdolny, inteligentny, sprytny…
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영리한, 똑똑한…
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bravo, intelligente, abile…
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clerkly
clerkship BETA
clethra
Cleveland
clever
clever at doing something
clever clogs
clever dick/clogs idiom
clever idea

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UK
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US
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