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# clever

«clever» in Mova's school dictionary: **quick to learn and understand things** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#m1)

2) Clever means skilful at doing something, like clever with your hands. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#m2)

3) A clever idea or plan is smart and works well. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#m3)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x1)
- What a clever idea! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x2)
- The clever fox tricked the crow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x3)
- He is clever with his hands and builds models. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x4)
- Crows are clever birds that can use tools. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x5)
- That's a clever way to solve the puzzle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x6)
- "What a clever creature!" thinks he. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/#x7)

### 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.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/45-the-royal-family-in-the-news-a-queens-death-a-coronation-titles-lost-and-illnesses-announced/5/)
- [Clever viewers ask three questions: is this what happened, or what someone thinks?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/52-elections-crime-the-weather-breaking-news-and-news-vs-opinion/2/)
- [Words like "kind, clever and creative" fit almost anyone, so they tell you nothing about you.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/7-pretend-games-quotes-and-two-bots/14/)
- [Bots can be tricked by clever words, so they need testing, and important decisions need people.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/22-news-jobs-art-safety/15/)
- [Some worries are big too, and many clever people are working to make powerful AI safe.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/24-future-hopes/3/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «clever» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clever/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.