ˈjēnyəs also -nēəs noun
( plural geniuses -əsə̇z ; or ge·nii -nēˌī also -nˌyī ; see numbered senses )
Etymology: Latin, from gignere to beget — more at kin
1. plural genii : an attendant spirit of a person or place : tutelary deity
every human being has a genius … associated with him from the moment of conception — C.D.Forde & G.I.Jones
2.
a. : a strong leaning or inclination : decided taste : bent , penchant
fate did not allow him to indulge his genius till those last few years — Norman Douglas
b.
(1) : peculiar, distinctive, or identifying character : essential nature or spirit : prevailing taste or sentiment
at odds with the genius of the theater — Time
a spirit hostile to the genius of our government — John Marshall
suited to the genius of a free people — Robert Cutler
the genius of the age we have under discussion — Benjamin Farrington
the genius of Elizabethan literature
(2) : a personification or embodiment especially of a quality or condition : incarnation
essentially the genius of the mediocre — H.J.Laski
c. : the distinctive character or quality of a place or the body of traditions and influences associated with it
under the spell of the genius of the ancient university town
the genius of this land was in its great irregularity and variety — Donald Davidson
3. plural usually genii
a. : a nature spirit or an elemental spirit : genie , demon
these malevolent genii of the deep — Norman Douglas
b. : a person who influences another (as in character or behavior) for good or bad
he was the evil genius of that unhappy prince
4. plural usually geniuses
a.
(1) : a singular strongly marked capacity or aptitude : notable talent
had a genius for getting along with boys — Mary Ross
a genius at … carpentry — Tom Corkery
has a genius for cooking — H.E.Scudder
(2) : a strongly marked tendency, disposition, or flair of any kind
developing a genius for making people furious — W.J.Reilly
has a genius for understatement — John Buchan
has a positive genius for saying the wrong thing
b. : extraordinary native intellectual power especially as manifested in unusual capacity for creative activity of any kind
in the contemporary novel genius is hard to find, talent is abundant — British Book News
c. : a person endowed with transcendent mental superiority, inventiveness, and ability
the rare, fortunate geniuses like the Curies, Darwin, or Newton — Oliver La Farge
specifically : a person with a very high intelligence quotient usually in the range of 140 or above
Synonyms: see gift