Ĭn'/ge-nū'i-ty, n.
n. [Lat. ingenuitas, Fr. ingénuité, Sp. ingenuidad, It. ingenuity. See infra.]
Sense 1. The quality or power of ready invention; quickness or acuteness in combining ideas, or in forming new combinations; ingeniousness; skill; as, how many machines for saving labor has the ingenuity of men devised and constructed!
Sense 2. Curiousness in design, the effect of ingenuity; as, the ingenuity of a plan or of mechanism.
Sense 3. Openness of heart; ingenuousness. [Obs.]
The stings and remorses of natural ingenuity, a principle that men scarcely ever shake off, as long as they carry any thing of human nature about them. South.
Synonyms—Inventiveness; ingeniousness; skill.—INGENUITY, CLEVERNESS. Ingenuity is a form of genius, and cleverness of talent. The former implies invention, the latter a peculiar dexterity and readiness of execution. Sir James Mackintosh remarks, that the English overdo in the use of the words clever and cleverness, applying them loosely to almost every form of intellectual ability. Thus they speak of a clever article in a magazine; a clever review; a clever speech in Parliament; of a book very cleverly written; of great cleverness in debate; and in accordance with this use of language, Mr. Macaulay would be called a very clever writer of history, and Mr. Fox a very clever debater.