# ingenious

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɪnˈd͡ʒiːnjəs/ · frequency rank #18,347

## Definitions
1. Of a person, displaying genius or brilliance; inventive.
2. Of a thing, characterized by genius; cleverly contrived or done.
3. Showing originality or sagacity; witty.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeniōsus (“endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius”), from ingenium (“innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius”), from in- (“in”) + gignere (“to produce”), Old Latin genere. See also engine.

## Common misspellings (12)
`ignenious`, `inegnious`, `ingeinous`, `ingeniosu`, `ingeniouss`, `ingeniuos`, `ingennious`, `ingenoius`, `inggenious`, `ingneious`, `inngenious`, `nigenious`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ingenious