genius ~ genus:
[slightly different last vowel sound]
“Genius” (with an ‘i’; for the right pronunciation of this word, please click here, as an uncountable noun, is ‘great, extraordinary creative ability, especially in the fields of science and arts’; and as a countable noun, with the plural form “geniuses’, is ‘a person of very high intelligence or creativity; exceptionally rare mental ability’,
e.g.
Stephen W. Hawking is a mathematical genius in modern times.
Our company’s PR has a genius for organising meetings with public figures.
Compare:
My friend has a genius for making friends.
[i.e. he is good at making friends with anybody easily … good effect]
She has a genius for saying the wrong things at wrong time.
[i.e. she always says something that is not proper for the occasion, for instance, ‘talking about people dying at a birthday party … bad effect]
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taxonomy of living genus
“Genus” (with plural form ‘genera’; for the two different pronunciations of this word, please click here) is ‘a division or group of closely related animals or plants within a ‘family’, called ‘taxonomy’,
e.g.
Do you know which genus humans belong to?
The African lion belongs to genus ‘Panthera’ and species ‘leo’.
