in|ge|nu|i|ty

in|ge|nu|i|ty «_IHN juh NOO uh tee, -NYOO-», noun, plural -ties.

1. skill in planning or inventing; cleverness: »

The boy showed ingenuity in making toys out of scraps of discarded wood.

SYNONYM(S): inventiveness.

2. skillfulness of contrivance or design: »

the ingenuity of a puzzle.

3. an ingenious device or contrivance.

4. Archaic. candor; frankness.

╂[< Latin ingenuitās frankness < ingenuus ingenuous; meaning influenced by ingenious]