Meanings
plural ingenuities
- uncountableusuallyThe ability to solve difficult problems in original, clever, and inventive ways; ingeniousness.
Poverty is the mother of ingenuity.
4 more examples
The pyramids demonstrate the ingenuity of the ancient Egyptians.
Ingenuity is one of the characteristics of a beaver.
Half the ingenuity lavished on news—by news we mean the topics of the day as connected with their own circle—half this ingenuity would set up a whole Society of Antiquaries, and immortalise at least a dozen of them.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 189The heavy freight traffic which shares the double line between Paddington and Wolverhampton with the passenger traffic has taxed the ingenuity of the timetable planners.
1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 103 - uncountableusuallyAn ingenuous action or thought.
Virility is sustained, preserved, even recaptured, by man's ingenuities, by exotic foods and drinks, by rare herbal compounds, by fantastical manipulations, goetic periapts.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii - archaicuncountableusuallyIngenuousness; honesty, straightforwardness
And therefore I apply my selfe to ingenuitie, and ever to speake truth and what I think[…].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe power of creative imagination
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latiningenuitās
- Englishingenuity
From Latin ingenuitās. Compare genius.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian изобретателност
- изобретателност (izobretatelnost)ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Catalan enginy
- enginyability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Chinese Mandarin 發明才能 /发明才能, 創造力 /创造力
- 發明才能 /发明才能 (fāmíng cáinéng)ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- 創造力 /创造力 (chuàngzàolì)ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Danish snedighed
- snedighedability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Dutch vernuft
- vernuftability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Finnish nerokkuus, nokkeluus
- nerokkuusability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- nokkeluusability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- kekseliäisyysability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
French ingéniosité
- ingéniositéability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
German Einfallsreichtum, Findigkeit
- Einfallsreichtumability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- Findigkeitability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- Raffinesseability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- Scharfsinnability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Hungarian találékonyság, leleményesség
- találékonyságability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- leleményességability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Italian ingegnosità, ingegno
- ingegnositàability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- ingegnoability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Japanese 独創性
- 独創性 (dokusōsei)ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Norwegian Bokmål kløkt, oppfinnsomhet
- kløktability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- oppfinnsomhetability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Portuguese engenhosidade
- engenhosidadeability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Romanian ingeniozitate, îndemânare
- ingeniozitateability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- îndemânareability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Russian нахо́дчивость, изобрета́тельность
- нахо́дчивость (naxódčivostʹ)ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- изобрета́тельность (izobretátelʹnostʹ)ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Scottish Gaelic eadar-ghnàth
- eadar-ghnàthability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Slovak vynaliezavosť
- vynaliezavosťability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Spanish ingenuidad
- ingenuidadingenuousness
Swedish fyndighet, sinnrikhet
- fyndighetability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- sinnrikhetability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- genialitetability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Turkish beceri, hüner
- beceriability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- hünerability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- marifetability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
- ustalıkability to come up with solutions to difficult problems
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
ingenuity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ingenuity
“ingenuity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ingenuity. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ingenuity,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ingenuity.
Source: ingenuity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.