geniusge‧ni‧us /ˈdʒiːniəs/ ●●○ noun 
The film reveals Fellini’s genius.work/writer/man etc of genius Wynford was an architect of genius.a stroke of genius (=a very clever idea) At the time, his appointment seemed a stroke of genius. a work of pure genius► see thesaurus at skill2[countable] someone who has an unusually high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability: Freud was a genius.musical/comic/mathematical etc geniusa genius at (doing) something My father was a genius at storytelling.3a genius for (doing) something special skill at doing something: That woman has a genius for organization. Warhol’s genius for publicity
WORD ORIGINgenius
Origin:
1300-1400 Latin ‘spirit who guards a person or place’, from gignere; ➔ GENITALEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a math genius
- Could a computer ever achieve the genius of men like Newton and Einstein.
- Einstein was probably the greatest mathematical genius of all time.
- Her teachers recognized her genius early on.
- I admire the Japanese genius for improving ideas from other countries.
- Maurice was always entertaining, but there was a touch of genius in the way he talked that night.
- Perot was a wonderful businessman and a genius in his own way.
- Sakharov was a man of genius.
- Sandra will deal with it. That woman has a genius for organization.
- All have found to their cost that on his game there's simply no stopping the hurling genius.
- His enduring passion and genius is financial.
- Nude or clothed, the female figure has been at the centre of debates about the genius in art.
- Really, quite a stroke of genius.
- They would think me, if not a genius, then at least astute.
THESAURUS
[countable, uncountable] an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised it: · He plays the piano with great skill.· communication/language/computer etc skills· The course will help you improve your communication skills.
[countable, uncountable] a natural ability to do something well which can be developed with practice: · She was a young artist with a lot of talent.· She showed a talent for acting from an early age.· He is a man of many talents.
[uncountable] very great ability, which only a few people have: · The opera shows Mozart’s genius as a composer.· Picasso was a painter of genius.
[countable] a natural ability to do something very well, which you were born with: · You can see that he has a gift for the game.· Winterson has great gifts as a writer.
[singular, uncountable] skill for doing something, especially something that needs imagination and creativity: · The job does require some creative flair.· She has a flair for languages.
[uncountable] specialized knowledge of a technical subject, which you get from experience of doing that type of work: · The technical expertise for building the dam is being provided by a US company.
[singular] informal a special skill for doing a particular thing, especially a simple everyday thing: · Breadmaking is easy once you get the knack.· He has a knack for making people feel relaxed.
Longman Language Activatora good idea especially spoken · "We could go and see a movie." "Good idea!"· I think a skiing holiday is a brilliant idea.· That's a great idea! Let's call Madge and see if she can come too.
a very good idea that you think of suddenly. This is sometimes also used when you think that someone's idea is not good: · Why not ask Sylvia? She's always full of bright ideas.whose bright idea was it ... (=used when you think something is a bad idea): · Whose bright idea was it to start major road repairs right at the start of the holiday season?
British /brainstorm American informal a sudden, very good idea: · Unless someone comes up with a brainwave soon, I can't see how we can possibly get out of this mess.have a brainwave: · Then Mo had a brainstorm. She would start her own coffee bar for teenagers.
a sudden good idea about what to do or say, that seems to come to you from nowhere: · Of course! If he thinks it was his idea in the first place, he's bound to agree. What an inspiration!inspiration for: · Where exactly did you get the inspiration for the movie?inspiration comes to somebody: · Inspiration came to him as he started to write for the second time.flash of inspiration (=a sudden good idea): · In that instant, he had a flash of inspiration: he and Tom would try and rescue Frankie themselves.
informal a very good and original idea about what to do or how to deal with a problem: · They named the new car 'Thunderbird.' It was a stroke of genius.· At first, the manager's appointment of talented but inexperienced players seemed like a stroke of genius.
the ability to learn well the ability to learn quickly, think clearly, and understand ideas well: · A child's intelligence develops rapidly between the ages of four and five.· Intelligence cannot be measured just by exam results.· In order to be a pilot you need to be of above average intelligence.· The department bases its selection process on a series of intelligence tests.
the ability to think quickly and well, remember a lot of facts, and be good at studying: somebody's brains: · He has his mother's brains and his father's good looks.· With your brains, you should easily get into college.have the brains (to do something): · Chloe had always been the one with the brains to really make something of herself.
a very high level of intelligence and ability: · Eddie's brilliance brought him top marks in the Harvard entrance exam.· His reputation was founded on his organizational abilities and his acknowledged brilliance as a leader of men.
the ability to think about and understand and express complicated ideas: · Our physical strength declines with age, but not necessarily our intellect.the intellect: · Joyce's books seem designed to appeal to the intellect rather than the emotions.a great/formidable etc intellect: · Rehnquist was a great scholar who possessed a formidable intellect.
an extremely high level of intelligence, ability, and skill which only a few people have: · Could a computer ever achieve the genius of men like Newton and Einstein.· Maurice was always entertaining, but there was a touch of genius in the way he talked that night.have a genius for (doing) something: · Sandra will deal with it. That woman has a genius for organization.
knowledge and good judgement based on experience of life: · Paul learned to value his father's wisdom and advice.the wisdom of something: · Some people were beginning to doubt the wisdom of their leader's decisions.conventional wisdom (=what is usually considered to be true and right): · Conventional wisdom says that the health of the economy is one of the most important factors that determines a president's chances of winning re-election.
extremely intelligent a brilliant scientist, student, lawyer etc is one who is extremely intelligent and extremely successful at what they do: · The brilliant physicist Paul Dirac first put forward this theory back in 1990.· a brilliant historian
someone with a very high level of intelligence, which only a few people have, especially someone who has original and important ideas: · Perot was a wonderful businessman and a genius in his own way.mathematical/musical/artistic etc genius: · Einstein was probably the greatest mathematical genius of all time.
stronger expressions meaning not use this to emphasize that something is definitely not true: · She's not at all happy about the situation.· The children didn't seem to be at all frightened.· No, no, no, that's wrong. That's not what I meant at all.
formal use this when you want to say strongly that something is not true: · It is by no means certain that you'll get your money back.· It's difficult, but by no means impossible.· It's not clear by any means where the money is going to come from to fund this project.
also not a bit especially British use this to say strongly that something is not true, especially when you would expect it to be true: · You're not in the least sorry, are you?· My essay wasn't a bit like yours.· "Was she annoyed?" "Not a bit! She was delighted."fnot the least (bit): · Henry wasn't the least bit worried.
if something is in no way affected by something else, it is definitely not affected by it in any way: · This will in no way influence our original decision.· The damage is very slight and in no way reduces the value of the painting.
use this when something is completely untrue, impossible, different etc: · His arguments are not remotely convincing.· It was a stupid remark, and not remotely funny.· She didn't seem remotely interested in anything I had to say.
use this to emphasize that something is definitely not true, and if someone thinks it is true they are being a little stupid: · They only won 1-0 - hardly a great victory!· It's hardly surprising he's upset, considering the way you've treated him!· He's hardly a world chess champion - you should be able to beat him.· All these similarities could hardly be due to chance.
use this to say that someone is not good at something: · I occasionally put up a few shelves, but I'm not exactly the world's greatest handyman.
an informal expression meaning to not have the skills, qualities etc of the person or type of person that you have mentioned: · Of course, I'm no expert but that wall really looks like it's leaning over.· Stephanie knows what she's doing. She's no fool.· He's quite a bright boy I suppose, but he's no Albert Einstein.
use this to emphasize strongly that something is not possible, likely, true etc: · I can't see any use in us talking about that idea at all - it's simply not practical.· For as long as she could remember she'd just never been interested in marriage and children.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Wynford was an architect of genius. a work of pure genius That woman has a genius for organization.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Wynford was an architect of genius. (=a very clever idea) At the time, his appointment seemed a stroke of genius.
At the time, his appointment seemed a stroke of genius. a work of pure genius That woman has a genius for organization.· That excuse you came up with was a flash of pure genius.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· This struggle with adversity and the resulting self-imposed isolation came to be seen as criteria for artistic genius.· He had seen the reflected glory of kings and princes, experienced the artistic genius of the Renaissance.· She was convinced of her own artistic genius and perpetually dissatisfied with the quality of recognition she received.
· It's one of those rare books of comic genius that imprints itself on the brain and can never afterwards be eradicated.· I mean, he was a comic genius, yet he still wanted to be something he wasn't.· The only saving grace was Robert Downey Junior's performance as the comic genius they said.· It isn't every comic genius who would undertake to send his talent into such painful places.
· The creative genius of artist, composer, or writer is a kind of genie.· The days of the creative genius prima donna are over.· There followed a period of about fifteen years when creative genius became evident, such as the works of William Shakespeare.· After all, you are a creative genius and these characters are mere socialites.
· He is to me the greatest genius of our century.· That, combined with anonymity no matter how great your genius, would seem like a formula for disaster.· New Yorkers have always shown a greater genius for putting up new buildings than for repairing old ones.· The great genius of this world was to make an advantage of disadvantage.· Beethoven may have been the greatest genius of repetition in the history of music.· This was another part of his great genius: he actually looked like John L.. Lewis.
· I decide that he is a latent mathematical genius.· Many of the individuals in these groups have dazzling individual skills mathematical genius is often one.· Stephen Wolfram, a mathematical genius who did pioneering work on the varieties of computer algorithms agrees.
· The resulting fictionalised account is a faithful portrait of a musical genius, drunken lout, spiritual healer, liar and clown.· Fortunately, the timeless musical genius knew when to call it quits, though his stunning creations live on.· Danielle Salamon was also four when she was feted as a musical genius in 1953.
· We are swimmers in slow motion, we glide together through clear and wordless waves, strokes of pure genius.· None of us has the gift of a pure genius like Mozart.· Warm yourself by the fireside of pure genius and it won't cost you a penny.· The Swindon sweeper doesn't need a broomstick to weave his magic and cast his soccer spells, just pure genius.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1[uncountable] a very high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability, which only a few people have: - He has a genius for conducting but he doesn't enjoy doing it.
- I recall one private who had a genius for drawing...
- Joan was discovered to have a genius for turning an ancient block of stone into a home.
- Jobs had a genius for building group identity.
- Mat had a genius for sensitivity.
- Mr Havel, who has a genius for pinpointing the absurd, smiled gently and sipped at some mineral water.
- The Clinton staff developed a genius for tapping into the emotions and aspirations of a winning number of voters.
- Woosnam has a genius for golf that Teravainen lacks, or at least has not yet developed.
- It was putting it into such a familiar context as a railway train that was a stroke of genius.
- Kevin Coley was busy supervising four different video cameramen to capture Trace's every stroke of genius on the field.
- Really, quite a stroke of genius.
The film reveals Fellini’s genius.work/writer/man etc of genius Wynford was an architect of genius.a stroke of genius (=a very clever idea) At the time, his appointment seemed a stroke of genius. a work of pure genius► see thesaurus at skill2[countable] someone who has an unusually high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability: Freud was a genius.musical/comic/mathematical etc geniusa genius at (doing) something My father was a genius at storytelling.3a genius for (doing) something special skill at doing something: That woman has a genius for organization. Warhol’s genius for publicity