Cleverly

How to spell cleverly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce cleverly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does cleverly mean?

1. adverbIn a skilful, ingenious, or quick-witted way.

Cleverly in a sentence

• She cleverly rearranged the furniture to make the small room feel spacious.

• The accountant cleverly structured the deductions to lower the tax bill.

Where does cleverly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The base word 'clever' has a surprisingly murky and humble history. It seems to derive from an East Anglian dialect word, possibly connected to the Middle English 'cliver', meaning 'quick to seize' or 'nimble with the hands', which may in turn link to the verb 'cleave' in the sense of grasping or clutching. For a long time the word carried a slightly disreputable flavour, suggesting cunning or manual dexterity rather than the admiring sense of intelligence we attach to it today. The modern meaning of mental quickness only became firmly established in the 1700s, and the adverb form simply adds the productive English ending '-ly', which turns adjectives into adverbs of manner. Because 'clever' ends in a consonant, the suffix attaches cleanly with no spelling change, so the trap is simply remembering both the 'er' and the doubled effect of 'erly' rather than writing 'cleverley' or 'cleaverly'.

How the word is built

• clever (skilful, ingenious)
• -ly (adverb suffix)