clever
part of speech
adjective (cleverer, cleverest; or more clever, most clever)
meaning for a pupil
1) Clever means quick to learn and understand things. tree →
2) Clever means skilful at doing something, like clever with your hands. tree →
3) A clever idea or plan is smart and works well. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school, being clever helps, but practice and effort matter just as much. In stories, a clever character (like a fox or a trickster) solves problems by thinking, not by strength. Clever can sometimes mean sly, too clever by half. Phrases: clever at, clever with, a clever idea, too clever by half, clever clogs (informal).
examples
- She's very clever at maths. tree →
- What a clever idea! tree →
- The clever fox tricked the crow. tree →
- He is clever with his hands and builds models. tree →
- Crows are clever birds that can use tools. tree →
- That's a clever way to solve the puzzle. tree →
- "What a clever creature!" thinks he. tree →
note
In British English clever is very common; in American English people often say smart. Clever is about the mind; strong is about the body. Calling someone "too clever" can be a criticism. Cleverer and more clever are both used.
In the corpora
- Guessing beyond it is not clever; it can hurt a family with young children who can read the comments.
- Clever viewers ask three questions: is this what happened, or what someone thinks?
- Words like "kind, clever and creative" fit almost anyone, so they tell you nothing about you.
- Bots can be tricked by clever words, so they need testing, and important decisions need people.
- Some worries are big too, and many clever people are working to make powerful AI safe.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «clever» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.