clever
/ˈklevə(r)/adjective
(cleverer, cleverest)
1
- quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent聪明的, 伶俐的：
she was an extremely clever and studious young woman
她是个极为聪明好学的姑娘
how clever of him to think of this!
他想出这个主意, 多么聪明啊！
1.1
- skilled at doing or achieving something; talented熟练的, 灵巧的; 有才能的：
he was very clever at getting what he wanted
他很精于得到他想要的
both Grandma and Mother were clever with their hands.
外婆和妈妈两人手都很巧。
1.2
- (of a thing, action, or idea) showing intelligence or skill; ingenious（物品, 行动, 主意）聪明的, 灵巧的; 机敏的：
a simple but clever idea for helping people learn computing
一个帮助人们学习电脑的简单而巧妙的主意
he taught the dog to perform some very clever tricks.
他教那条狗表演一些很灵巧的把戏。
1.3
- usu. with negative informal sensible; well advised〈非正式〉明智的; 深思熟虑的：
Joe had a feeling it wasn't too clever, leaving Dolly alone.
乔有种感觉, 丢下多利不管并不明智。
2
- predic. with negative Brit. informal healthy or well〈英, 非正式〉健壮的, 健康的：
I was up and about by this time though still not too clever.
那时我虽然仍还不是很健康, 但已能下床走动了。
短语
too clever by half
- informal used to express one's belief that a person is annoyingly proud of their intelligence or skill, and that they might overreach themselves〈非正式〉未免太聪明了, 卖弄小聪明。
派生词
cleverly
adverbcleverness
noun词源
Middle English （in the sense 'quick to catch hold', only recorded in this period）： perhaps of Dutch or Low German origin, and related to CLEAVE2. In the late 16th cent. the term came to mean (probably through dialect use) 'manually skilful'; the sense 'possessing mental agility' dates from the early 18th cent.