genius

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genius

exceptional natural ability; a person of extraordinarily high intelligence; gift, talent, aptitude, faculty

Not to be confused with:

genus – a kind; sort; class or group of individuals or of species of individuals

gen·ius

(jēn′yəs)

n. pl. gen·ius·es

a. Extraordinary intellectual and creative power: artistic works of genius.

b. A person of extraordinary intellect and talent.

c. A person who has an exceptionally high intelligence quotient, typically above 140.

a. A strong natural talent, aptitude, or inclination: has a genius for choosing the right words.

b. One who has such a talent or inclination: a genius at diplomacy.

3. The prevailing spirit or distinctive character, as of a place, a person, or an era: the genius of Elizabethan England.

4. pl. ge·ni·i (jē′nē-ī′) Roman Mythology A tutelary deity or guardian spirit of a person or place.

[Middle English, guardian spirit, from Latin; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

genius

(ˈdʒiːnɪəs; -njəs)

n, pl -uses or (for senses 5, 6)genii (ˈdʒiːnɪˌaɪ)

1. a person with exceptional ability, esp of a highly original kind

2. such ability or capacity: Mozart's musical genius.

3. the distinctive spirit or creative nature of a nation, era, language, etc

4. a person considered as exerting great influence of a certain sort: an evil genius.

5. (Classical Myth & Legend) Roman myth

a. the guiding spirit who attends a person from birth to death

b. the guardian spirit of a place, group of people, or institution

6. (Non-European Myth & Legend) Arabian myth (usually plural) a demon; jinn

adj

clever and original

[C16: from Latin, from gignere to beget]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gen•ius

(ˈdʒin yəs)

n., pl. gen•ius•es for 2,3,8, gen•i•i (ˈdʒi niˌaɪ)
for 6,7,9.

1. an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, esp. as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.: the genius of Mozart.

2. a person having such capacity.

3. natural ability; talent: a genius for leadership.

4. distinctive character or spirit, as of a nation, period, or language.

5. the guardian spirit of a place, person, institution, etc.

6. a person who strongly influences for good or ill the character, conduct, or destiny of a person, place, or thing: an evil genius.

7. jinn.

[1350–1400; < Latin: tutelary deity or genius of a person; compare genus]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	genius - someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality; "Mozart was a child genius"; "he's smart but he's no Einstein" brainiac, Einstein, mastermind, brain intellectual, intellect - a person who uses the mind creatively prodigy - an unusually gifted or intelligent (young) person; someone whose talents excite wonder and admiration; "she is a chess prodigy"
	2.	genius - unusual mental ability brilliance intelligence - the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience coruscation - a sudden or striking display of brilliance; "coruscations of great wit" pyrotechnics - (music) brilliance of display (as in the performance of music) scintillation - a brilliant display of wit
	3.	genius - someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field hotshot, maven, mavin, superstar, virtuoso, whiz, whizz, wiz, wizard, adept, sensation, star, ace, champion expert - a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully track star - a star runner
	4.	genius - exceptional creative ability wizardry creative thinking, creativeness, creativity - the ability to create
	5.	genius - a natural talent; "he has a flair for mathematics"; "he has a genius for interior decorating" flair endowment, natural endowment, talent, gift - natural abilities or qualities

genius

noun

1. brilliance, ability, talent, capacity, gift, bent, faculty, excellence, endowment, flair, inclination, knack, propensity, aptitude, cleverness, creative power, GEnys (S.M.S.) This is the mark of her genius as a designer.

2. master, expert, mastermind, brain (informal), buff (informal), intellect (informal), adept, maestro, virtuoso, boffin (Brit. informal), whiz (informal), hotshot (informal), rocket scientist (informal, chiefly U.S.), wonk (informal), brainbox, maven (U.S.), master-hand, fundi (S. African), GEnys (S.M.S.) a 14-year-old mathematical genius
master fool, idiot, dunce, imbecile, simpleton, dolt, half-wit, nincompoop

Quotations
"Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration" [Thomas Alva Edison Life]
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him" [Jonathan Swift Thoughts on Various Subjects]
"The true genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some particular direction" [Dr. Johnson Lives of the English Poets]
"Genius is...the child of imitation" [Joshua Reynolds Discourses on Art]
"If I have seen further [than other men] it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants" [Isaac Newton letter to Robert Hooke]
"Genius must be born, and never can be taught" [John Dryden To Mr. Congreve]
"In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts" [Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance]
"Genius does what it must,"
"And Talent does what it can" [Owen Meredith Last Words of a Sensitive Second-rate Poet]
"It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing" [Gertrude Stein Everybody's Autobiography]
"Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience" [Comte de Buffon]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

genius

noun

1. Liveliness and vivacity of imagination:

brilliance, brilliancy, fire, inspiration.

2. An innate capability:

aptitude, aptness, bent, faculty, flair, gift, head, instinct, knack, talent, turn.

Translations

عَبْقَريعَبْقَرِيّ

génius

geni

Genie Intelligenzbestie Koryphäe

μεγαλοφυΐα

genio

neronerokkuus

génie

genij

zsenizsenialitásgéniuszlángelmelángész

snillingur

genio grande abilit...ingegno demone genialità

天才

천재

genijus

ģēnijs

génius

genij

geni

อัจฉริยบุคคล

dahi dâhi

thiên tài

天才

genius

[ˈdʒiːnɪəs] N (geniuses (pl)) (= person) → genio m; (= cleverness) → genialidad f; (= talent) → don m
he's a genius → es un genio, es genial
you're a genius! (iro) → ¡eres un hacha!
a man of genius → un hombre genial
she's a mathematical genius → es un genio para las matemáticas
to have a genius for (doing) sth → tener un don especial para (hacer) algo
you have a genius for forgetting things → tienes un don especial para olvidar las cosas

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

genius

[ˈdʒiːniəs] n

(= person) → génie m
She's a genius! → C'est un génie!

(= cleverness) → génie m
pure genius → du génie pur et simple
a stroke of genius → un trait de génie

(= gift) → génie m
to have a genius for sth → avoir le génie de qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

genius

n pl <-es or genii>

→ Genie nt; (= mental or creative capacity) → Genius m, → Schöpferkraft f; her real genius as a designer → ihre Genialität als Designerin; a man of genius → ein genialer Mensch, ein Genie nt; to have a genius for something/doing something (= talent) → eine besondere Gabe für etw haben/dafür haben, etw zu tun; her genius for languages → ihre hohe Sprachbegabung; she has a genius for controversy → sie hat ein Talent dafür, Streit anzufangen; a flash of genius → eine geniale Eingebung

(= spirit: of period, country etc) → (Zeit)geist m

(= bad influence) evil genius → böser Geist

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

genius

[ˈdʒiːnɪəs] n → genio
to have a genius for sth/for doing sth → essere molto bravo/a in qc/a fare qc

genius

(ˈdʒiːnjəs) – plural ˈgeniuses – noun

a person who is very clever. The new professor of mathematics has been described as a genius.

genius

→ عَبْقَرِيّ génius geni Genie μεγαλοφυΐα genio nero génie genij genio 天才 천재 genie geni geniusz génio, gênio гений geni อัจฉริยบุคคล dahi thiên tài 天才

genius

n genio

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References in classic literature ?

When he was thus employed he saw an enormous genius, white with rage, coming towards him, with a scimitar in his hand.

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And, to signify that peculiar musical quality of Poe's genius which inthralls every reader, Mr.

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The genius of the Platonists is intoxicating to the student, yet how few particulars of it can I detach from all their books.

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In any other place than the town of Alencon the mere aspect of his person would have won him the assistance of superior men, or of women who are able to recognize genius in obscurity.

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But pictures are not enough although most authors draw so badly that if one of them happens to have the genius for line that Mr.

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Besides this, the remarks of all except Pfuel had one common trait that had not been noticeable at the council of war in 1805: there was now a panic fear of Napoleon's genius, which, though concealed, was noticeable in every rejoinder.

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"It bears the marks of that superb unconcern which is the characteristic of genius," replied the Ambitious Writer, contemptuously passing him by.

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And this queer genius fell in love with a widow lady more than twenty years older than himself.

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He found a difficulty in collecting his thoughts and bringing them to bear on Mamma Valerius' "good genius," on the Angel of Music of whom Christine had spoken to him so strangely, on the death's head which he had seen in a sort of nightmare on the high altar at Perros and also on the Opera ghost, whose fame had come to his ears one evening when he was standing behind the scenes, within hearing of a group of scene-shifters who were repeating the ghastly description which the hanged man, Joseph Buquet, had given of the ghost before his mysterious death.

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Now I am not in any respect a genius, but a regular business man.

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'"I am the Genius of Despair and Suicide," said the apparition.

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In profile, you plainly perceive that horizontal, semi-crescentic depression in the forehead's middle, which, in man, is Lavater's mark of genius. But how?