genius
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who has very great intelligence or a special skill.
n.a person who possesses extraordinary mental capacity or creative power, often demonstrated through original work.
Simple“Albert Einstein is widely considered a genius for his work in physics.”
In context“The young composer was hailed as a musical genius after his first symphony premiered to international acclaim.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the great skill or intelligence that a very smart person has.
n.extraordinary mental capacity or a natural talent for a specific activity. Uncountable in this abstract sense.
Simple“Her genius for solving difficult math problems was obvious from a young age.”
In context“The true genius of the design lies in its simplicity and the way it solves complex engineering problems with minimal parts.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.very clever or brilliant. You use this to describe a great idea or plan.
adj.ingenious or exceptionally clever. Used as an attributive or predicative adjective in informal contexts.
Simple“That was a genius idea to bring an umbrella just in case.”
In context“The marketing team came up with a genius strategy that doubled their sales in less than three months.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
n.the special character or spirit of a place or person.
n.the prevailing spirit or distinctive character of a place, person, or era. Often used in the phrase 'genius loci'.
Simple“The architect tried to capture the genius of the ancient city in his new building.”
In context“The novel successfully evokes the genius of Victorian London, capturing both its industrial energy and its social contradictions.”
“You can’t walk into a gallery without learning about some subcultural genius or longlost creative you’ve never heard of.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.