genius

A young person who exhibits signs of great intelligence. This kid's a budding genius—have you seen the complex equations he can solve?

proverb Genius or things considered to have the quality of genius may derive from brilliant ideas or intellect, but they require a huge amount of hard work to be successful. All these successful entrepreneurs had great ideas, sure, but they worked extremely hard to realize them. Genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

proverb What appears as exceptional intellectual or creative capacity is actually the ability to continually exert great effort and attention to detail. Maybe these designers are born with some innate brilliance, but their designs are the result of a laser focus on getting all the details right. Ultimately, genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains.

A particularly inspired, clever, or innovative act, idea, or decision. Their decision to let customers from any other operating system migrate their information was a stroke of genius. I must say, it was a stroke of genius getting the kids all those puzzles—they've been playing quietly for hours!

a very bright and promising young person. Harry is a budding genius, but he seems like a fairly normal teenager.

Prov. Genius is the quality of being exceedingly careful about everything you do. If genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains, Marilyn certainly has it. She never overlooks a single detail that needs attention.

Prov. People get brilliant results primarily by working hard, not because they have special inborn powers. Child: Betty always does the best drawings in art class. She must be a genius. Father: If you worked hard, you could do just as well. Remember, genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.

an act of genius; a very clever and innovative idea or task. Your idea of painting the rock wall red was a stroke of genius.

A brilliant idea. This cliché, in which stroke betokens the sudden appearance of the idea, dates from the second half of the 1800s and at first was always used admiringly. Thus the Tacoma News of December 13, 1889, stated, “The latest nickel-in-the slot scheme is really a stroke of genius and is destined to revolutionize cheap literature in this country.” Later, however, the term was often used sarcastically, as in “You forgot the tickets? That was a stroke of genius.”