clever

Other forms of clever

comparative

cleverrer·

superlative

cleverrest·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about clever

What does clever mean?

clever means "showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in clever?

clever has 2 syllables: clev-er. The stress falls on "clev". In IPA it is /ˈklɛvɚ/.

What is another word for clever?

Close synonyms include cagey, cagy, canny, apt, cunning. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is clever a common word?

clever is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.