ge ‧ ni ‧ us /ˈdʒiːniəs/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: 'spirit who guards a person or place' , from gignere ; ⇨ ↑ genital ]
1 . [uncountable] a very high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability, which only a few people have:
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
2 . [countable] someone who has an unusually high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability:
Freud was a genius.
musical/comic/mathematical etc genius
a genius at (doing) something
My father was a genius at storytelling.
3 . a genius for (doing) something special skill at doing something:
That woman has a genius for organization.
Warhol’s genius for publicity
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ skill [uncountable and countable] 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.
▪ talent [uncountable and countable] 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.
▪ genius [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.
▪ gift [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.
▪ flair [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.
▪ expertise [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.
▪ a/the knack /næk/ [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.