genius
UK /ˈd͡ʒiː.ni.əs/ · US /ˈd͡ʒin.jəs/ noun, adjective
Forms geniuses genii
- noun (countable) Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art, etc. “She's a genius; she won a Nobel Prize at fifteen!”
- noun (uncountable) Extraordinary mental capacity.
- noun (uncountable) Inspiration, a mental leap, an extraordinary creative process. “a work of genius”
- noun (countable, Roman mythology, also figuratively) The tutelary deity or spirit of a place or person. “and the genius of the place: the growing enthusiasm for codified standards in the Army and Navy”
- adjective (informal) Ingenious, brilliant, very clever, or original. “What a genius idea!”
Synonyms
tutelary deity spirit liqueur liquor apparition specter vision brain brain surgeon brainbox brainiac deep thinker Einstein egghead intellectual mind rocket scientist superbrain thinker mastermind brilliance ace adept champion sensation maven mavin virtuoso hotshot star
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin genius (“inborn nature; a tutelary deity of a person or place; wit, brilliance”), from gignō (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of genio. See also genus and genie.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A good or evil spirit, or demon, supposed by the ancients to preside over a man's destiny in life; a tutelary deity; a supernatural being; a spirit, good or bad. Cf. Jinnee.
- noun The peculiar structure of mind with whoch each individual is endowed by nature; that disposition or aptitude of mind which is peculiar to each man, and which qualifies him for certain kinds of action or special success in any pursuit; special taste, inclination, or disposition; as, a genius for history, for poetry, or painting.
Etymology [L. genius, prop., the superior or divine nature which is innate in everything, the spirit, the tutelar deity or genius of a person or place, taste, talent, genius, from genere, gignere, to beget, bring forth. See Gender, and cf. Engine.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “genius”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details