ENGLISH
REFERENCE

genius

n. · adj.
US //ˈdʒinjəs// UK //dʒˈiːnɪəs// ge·nius
  1. 1 a brilliant person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a person who has very great intelligence or a special skill.

    a person who possesses extraordinary mental capacity or creative power, often demonstrated through original work.

    Example

    Albert Einstein is widely considered a genius for his work in physics.

    Example

    The young composer was hailed as a musical genius after his first symphony premiered to international acclaim.
  2. 2 exceptional intelligence (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the great skill or intelligence that a very smart person has.

    extraordinary mental capacity or a natural talent for a specific activity. Uncountable in this abstract sense.

    Example

    Her genius for solving difficult math problems was obvious from a young age.

    Example

    The true genius of the design lies in its simplicity and the way it solves complex engineering problems with minimal parts.
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  1. 3 very clever (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    very clever or brilliant. You use this to describe a great idea or plan.

    ingenious or exceptionally clever. Used as an attributive or predicative adjective in informal contexts.

    Example

    That was a genius idea to bring an umbrella just in case.

    Example

    The marketing team came up with a genius strategy that doubled their sales in less than three months.
  2. 4 spirit of a place (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary Formal

    the special character or spirit of a place or person.

    the prevailing spirit or distinctive character of a place, person, or era. Often used in the phrase 'genius loci'.

    Example

    The architect tried to capture the genius of the ancient city in his new building.

    Example

    The novel successfully evokes the genius of Victorian London, capturing both its industrial energy and its social contradictions.
Origin

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.

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