All of Laptsev went to stare at the bride-to-be—she was no beauty, but everyone could see that she was clever, sophisticated …—Isaac Bashevis Singer, New Yorker, 29 Sept. 2003… the three of them may give Gray Davis, who was too clever for his own good, his comeuppance.—Garrison Keillor, Time, 25 Aug. 2003Some thought he had no redeeming value whatsoever. A sociopath. A clever manipulator …—Louise Erdrich, New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2002Those who can't write poetry, write clever letters to the editor. Those who can't write clever letters to the editor, write angry letters to the editor.—Matt Groening, Utne Reader, November/December 1987The old lady was clever enough and he thought that if she had started from any of the right premises, more might have been expected of her.—Flannery O'Connor, Everything That Rises Must Converge, 1967
Some cats are clever enough to figure out how to operate doorknobs.
That's the cleverest idea I've heard yet!
She found a clever hiding place for the letter.
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Their techniques are clever, and reveal interesting things about how large language models work.—Alex Reisner, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2025 Using bookcases as stands for your food and drinks is another clever way to create creative displays.—Nora Colomer, Fox News, 4 Mar. 2025 Aging can be a time of sustained growth — fueled by deliberate practice, emotional engagement, and the clever use of AI.—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025 The devilishly clever dad's wife, Emma Williams (@emmawill2014), posted a clip on TikTok showing five out of their six kids gathered around the table and engrossed in painting Warhammer 40k miniatures with their father.—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for clever
Word History
Etymology
Middle English cliver, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dialect kløver alert, skillful
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