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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One was very clever marketing by chocolate companies.—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026 Written like a field research journal, Emily Wilde is a clever and charming portrait of a scientist on a journey toward discovery, hard at work in the field and stumbling toward love, all at the same time.—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026 But anyone subcontracting tasks to AI is clever enough to imagine what might come next—a day when augmentation crosses into automation, and cognitive obsolescence compels them to seek work at a food truck, pet spa, or massage table.—Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026 Another clever, less involved hack involves incorporating an accent wall featuring honey oak paneling into your space, which adds a welcome texture to any room.—Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 10 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for clever
Word History
Etymology
Middle English cliver, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dialect kløver alert, skillful