different between ingenious vs wily

English

Alternative forms

• engenious (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeni?sus (“endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius”), from ingenium (“innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius”), from in- (“in”) +? gignere (“to produce”), Old Latin genere. See also engine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?i?nj?s/, /?n?d?i?ni?s/
• Rhymes: -i?ni?s
• Hyphenation: in?ge?nious

Adjective

ingenious (comparative more ingenious, superlative most ingenious)

1. (of a person) Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to invent.

2. (of a thing) Characterized by genius; cleverly done or contrived.

3. Witty; original; shrewd; adroit; keen; sagacious.

Usage notes

Do not confuse with ingenuous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:witty
• See also Thesaurus:intelligent

Related terms

Translations

References

• ingenious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ingenious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

From Middle English wily, wiley, wyly; equivalent to wile +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wa?.li/
• Rhymes: -a?li
• Homophone: Wylie
• Hyphenation: wi?ly

Adjective

wily (comparative wilier or more wily, superlative wiliest or most wily)

1. Sly, cunning, full of tricks

   Horatio's new girlfriend is a wily coquette and poor Horatio is too smitten to see it.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:wily

Derived terms

• wilily
• wiliness

Translations