Adjacent Words

Genius definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GE'NIUS, n. [L. from the root of gigno; Gr. to beget.]
1. Among the ancients, a good or evil spirit or demon supposed to preside over a man's destiny in life, that is, to direct his birth and actions and be his guard and guide; a tutelary deity; the ruling and protecting power of men, places or things. This seems to be merely a personification or deification of the particular structure or bent of mind which a man receives from nature,which is the primary signification of the word.
2. The peculiar structure of mind which is given by nature to an individual, or that disposition or bent of mind which is peculiar to every man, and which qualifies him for a particular employment; a particular natural talent or aptitude of mind for a particular study or course of life; as a genius for history, for poetry or painting.
3. Strength of mind; uncommon powers of intellect, particularly the power of invention. In this sense we say, Homer was a man of genius. Hence,
4. A man endowed with uncommon vigor of mind; a man of superior intellectual faculties. Shakespeare was a rare-genius.
5. Mental powers or faculties. [See No.2.]
6. Nature; disposition; peculiar character; as the genius of the times.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality; "Mozart was a child genius"; "he's smart but he's no Einstein" [syn: genius, mastermind, brain, brainiac, Einstein]
2: unusual mental ability [syn: brilliance, genius]
3: someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field [syn: ace, adept, champion, sensation, maven, mavin, virtuoso, genius, hotshot, star, superstar, whiz, whizz, wizard, wiz]
4: exceptional creative ability [syn: genius, wizardry]
5: a natural talent; "he has a flair for mathematics"; "he has a genius for interior decorating" [syn: flair, genius]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural geniuses or genii) Etymology: Latin, tutelary spirit, natural inclinations, from gignere to beget Date: 1513 1. a. plural genii an attendant spirit of a person or place b. plural usually genii a person who influences another for good or bad 2. a strong leaning or inclination ; penchant 3. a. a peculiar, distinctive, or identifying character or spirit b. the associations and traditions of a place c. a personification or embodiment especially of a quality or condition 4. plural usually genii spirit, jinni 5. plural usually geniuses a. a single strongly marked capacity or aptitude <had a genius for getting along with boys — Mary Ross> b. extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity c. a person endowed with transcendent mental superiority; especially a person with a very high IQ Synonyms: see gift

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. geniuses or genii) 1 (pl. geniuses) a an exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability or tendency. b a person having this. 2 the tutelary spirit of a person, place, institution, etc. 3 a person or spirit regarded as powerfully influencing a person for good or evil. 4 the prevalent feeling or associations etc. of a nation, age, etc. Etymology: L (in sense 2) f. the root of gignere beget

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Genius Gen"ius, n.; pl. E. Geniuses; in sense 1, L. Genii. [L. genius, prop., the superior or divine nature which is innate in everything, the spirit, the tutelar deity or genius of a person or place, taste, talent, genius, from genere, gignere, to beget, bring forth. See Gender, and cf. Engine.] 1. A good or evil spirit, or demon, supposed by the ancients to preside over a man's destiny in life; a tutelary deity; a supernatural being; a spirit, good or bad. Cf. Jinnee. The unseen genius of the wood. --Milton. We talk of genius still, but with thought how changed! The genius of Augustus was a tutelary demon, to be sworn by and to receive offerings on an altar as a deity. --Tylor. 2. The peculiar structure of mind with whoch each individual is endowed by nature; that disposition or aptitude of mind which is peculiar to each man, and which qualifies him for certain kinds of action or special success in any pursuit; special taste, inclination, or disposition; as, a genius for history, for poetry, or painting. 3. Peculiar character; animating spirit, as of a nation, a religion, a language. 4. Distinguished mental superiority; uncommon intellectual power; especially, superior power of invention or origination of any kind, or of forming new combinations; as, a man of genius. Genius of the highest kind implies an unusual intensity of the modifyng power. --Coleridge. 5. A man endowed with uncommon vigor of mind; a man of superior intellectual faculties; as, Shakespeare was a rare genius. Syn: Genius, Talent. Usage: Genius implies high and peculiar gifts of nature, impelling the mind to certain favorite kinds of mental effort, and producing new combinations of ideas, imagery, etc. Talent supposes general strength of intellect, with a peculiar aptitude for being molded and directed to specific employments and valuable ends and purposes. Genius is connected more or less with the exercise of imagination, and reaches its ends by a kind of intuitive power. Talent depends more on high mental training, and a perfect command of all the faculties, memory, judgment, sagacity, etc. Hence we speak of a genius for poetry, painting. etc., and a talent for business or diplomacy. Among English orators, Lord Chatham was distinguished for his genius; William Pitt for his pre["e]minent talents, and especially his unrivaled talent for debate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(geniuses) 1. Genius is very great ability or skill in a particular subject or activity. This is the mark of her real genius as a designer... The man had genius and had made his mark in the aviation world... Its very title is a stroke of genius. 2. A genius is a highly talented, creative, or intelligent person. Chaplin was not just a genius, he was among the most influential figures in film history. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Bent, turn, aptitude, aptness, capacity, faculty, endowment, talent, gift. 2. Invention, ingenuity, intellect, sagacity, brains, parts, wit, mother-wit, inspiration, creative power, power of invention. 3. Adept, proficient, master, master-hand, man of genius. 4. Nature, character, disposition, peculiar constitution, characteristic quality. 5. Spirit, tutelary deity, guardian spirit, guardian angel.

Moby Thesaurus

A per se, Baba Yaga, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Geist, Lilith, Melpomene, Muse, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, ability, ableness, academician, ace, acuity, acuteness, adept, adequacy, adroitness, afflatus, afreet, ancestral spirits, angel, animating spirit, animation, animus, aptitude, aptness, artistic imagination, astuteness, attendant godling, atua, barghest, bent, body-build, bookman, boss, brain, braininess, brains, brand, brightness, brilliance, bump, cacodemon, caliber, capability, capableness, capacity, cast, champion, character, characteristic, characteristics, chief, child prodigy, classicist, clear thinking, clerk, cleverness, colossus of knowledge, commander, competence, complexion, composition, conception, constituents, constitution, control, crackerjack, crasis, creative imagination, creative power, creative thought, creativity, daemon, daeva, daimonion, dean, demon, devil, dexterity, dharma, diathesis, disposition, divine afflatus, dower, dowry, dybbuk, efficacy, efficiency, endowment, enlivenment, equipment, esemplastic imagination, esemplastic power, esprit, ethos, evil genius, evil spirit, evil spirits, exhilaration, expert, facility, faculty, fairy godmother, familiar, familiar spirit, fiber, fiend, fiend from hell, fire, fire of genius, firing, first-rater, fitness, flair, forte, frame, fugleman, genie, genius domus, genius loci, ghoul, giant of learning, gift, gifted child, gifted person, giftedness, gifts, good angel, good genius, good hand, grain, grasp, great, guardian, guardian angel, guardian spirit, guide, gyre, habit, head, hellion, higher-up, household gods, hue, humanist, humor, humors, ilk, incubus, infection, infusion, ingenuity, inspiration, instinct, intellect, intellectual genius, intellectual prodigy, intelligence, inventiveness, invisible helper, jinni, jinniyeh, keen-wittedness, keenness, kind, knack, lamia, lares and penates, lares compitales, lares familiaris, lares permarini, lares praestites, lares viales, laureate, leader, leading light, learned clerk, learned man, literary man, litterateur, long suit, lover of learning, luminary, maestro, magician, mahatma, makeup, makings, man of genius, man of learning, man of letters, man of parts, manes, master, master hand, mastermind, mental alertness, mental genius, mental giant, mercurial mind, metier, mine of information, ministering angel, mold, moving spirit, muse, mythicization, mythification, mythopoeia, native cleverness, natural, natural endowment, natural gift, nature, nimble mind, nimble-wittedness, nimbleness, nonpareil, nous, numen, originality, paragon, parts, past master, penates, philologist, philologue, philomath, philosophe, philosopher, physique, poetic imagination, polyhistor, polymath, potential, power, powers, practiced hand, principal, prodigy, proficiency, property, pundit, qualification, quality, quick parts, quick thinking, quick wit, quick-wittedness, quickness, rakshasa, ready wit, ruler, sage, satan, savant, savvy, scholar, scholastic, schoolman, senior, shaping imagination, sharp-wittedness, sharpness, shedu, skilled hand, smartness, smarts, somatotype, sort, soul, special providence, speciality, specter, spirit, sprightly wit, stamp, star, streak, stripe, strong flair, strong point, student, succubus, suchness, sufficiency, superior, superman, supernatural being, superstar, susceptibility, system, talent, talents, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, the goods, the greatest, the most, the stuff, the undead, tone, top dog, topnotcher, totem, turn, tutelar god, tutelary, type, understanding, vampire, vein, virtuoso, walking encyclopedia, way, what it takes, whiz, wit, wizard, wonder, yogini