CLEVERNESS Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

cleverness

noun

Definition of cleverness

as in ability

mental skill or quickness it takes real cleverness to find a way around the rules

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in skill

subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something the undeniable cleverness of the negotiator, who managed to get each side to believe that they had won

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in creativity

the skill and imagination to create new things Cole Porter's overall cleverness with words, including his effortless ability to rhyme and pun

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cleverness And a cleverness with words, as illustrated in lyrics, conversation, and album titles including Internet Killed the Rock Star and God Save the Teen. — Katherine Turman, SPIN, 13 Oct. 2026 The hotel is a sleeper hit with the old-school crowd who come for the team’s warmth and understated cleverness. — Katharine Sohn, Architectural Digest, 2 Oct. 2026 The collective understanding of the world that brings us together through wit, cleverness and relevance. — Jonathan Knight, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2026 The wonderful Wood, meanwhile, infuses Anna with open-hearted charisma and cleverness, securing the balance in their onscreen relationship. — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 Penn perfectly captures Ern’s clueyness and cleverness, and David has brought bags of wit and heart to the script. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026 Ormund is given a great deal more character and power and cleverness in the show. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Members must accommodate themselves to its fictions, with varying mixtures of gullibility and cynicism; followers shown proof that the leader has lied may admire him all the more for his tactical cleverness. — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 If discussions keep scattering, don’t add more cleverness to the pile. — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleverness

Noun

By increasing its manufacturing capacity, the company aims to strengthen its ability to deliver advanced systems to customers.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
Who knows if SpaceX will win the war, but with the amount of spectrum being bought by Musk and his ability to access capital, Starlink will most likely take share from Charter and Comcast first, and then AT & T and Verizon next.

— Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of ability

Noun

During the interview with TBPN, Karp argued that AI is changing which skills and perspectives are valuable in the workplace.

— Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
Netflix’s skills and training programs reached over 6,500 people in Korea between 2021 and 2025.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of skill

Noun

But now, some of the key data centers at the heart of its technical prowess have been knocked out by Ukrainian drone attacks in the 4 1/2-year-old full-scale invasion, suffering damage that could take a long time to repair.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Chinese medical equipment makers are increasingly challenging US, European, and Japanese competitors in hospitals around the world, extending Beijing’s technological prowess to yet another industry.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of prowess

Noun

Koenig died Monday at his home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, talent agent Zachery McGinnis said in a statement.

— JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
Maybe talents like Misiorowski and Caminero and Chourio only come around once every couple decades.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of talent

Noun

Lethally charming and a natural chameleon, Conal uses social cunning and ruthlessness to get the job done and always gets a thrill out of completing a mission.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
Since the second Inauguration, the Trumps and their satraps have operated with all the commercial cunning of the Corleone family; the White House is their front, their Genco Pura Olive Oil Company.

— David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of cunning

Browse Nearby Words

cleverly

cleverness

cliché

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Style

“Cleverness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleverness. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of cleverness

noun

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