/ ˌɪndʒəˈnjuːəti; NAmE -ˈnuː-/ noun
[ U ] the ability to invent things or solve problems in clever new ways
SYN inventiveness
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (also in the senses nobility and ingenuousness ): from Latin ingenuitas ingenuousness, from ingenuus inborn. The current meaning arose by confusion of ingenuous with ingenious .