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.
Recent Examples on the WebNo matter how spicy the writing, such sweeping comparisons between modern demagogues and world-historical figures can come across as clever rather than deep.—Ferdinand Mount, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024 Popular on Variety But here the musical’s clever creators, led by director Gordon Greenberg and choreographer Lorin Latarro, decide to just go for the pleasant middle which neither offends nor inspires, just entertains.—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024 The main deck is also home to a galley that can transform into a bar thanks to a clever opening system, AB says.—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 22 Apr. 2024 The breakthrough came as the result of a clever bit of trial and error and the unraveling of a mystery that led the team to a single chip.—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2024 Fruit trees are a clever choice to help speed up that process, however.—Justine Calma, The Verge, 22 Apr. 2024 The image looks like layered motion stops of a jumping jack, a clever play on the shoe’s name.—Essence, 22 Apr. 2024 Kathryn Newton plays a 1980s goth girl and Cole Sprouse is a Victorian corpse resurrected amid lively characters and clever, sardonic dialogue.—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024 Between space-maximizing organizers and convenient cooling gadgets, there are all kinds of clever solutions that shoppers keep adding to their carts.—Isabel Garcia, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English cliver, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dialect kløver alert, skillful
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