How to memorize differences between ingenious, ingenuous, and indigenous

Question

From etymonline, ingenious, ingenuous, indigenous all share the same roots: in- and indu- mean "in", and "gen" means "produce". But the meanings of the words are not the same. So do you have some ways to remember the differences between their meanings?

Lester Nubla · Accepted Answer

ingenious - Latin ingeniōsus - full of intellect, superior in mind, able, intellectual, clever, ingenious

ingenuous - Latin ingenuus - inborn

indigenous - Latin indigen - homeborne

ingenuus can refer to different words in English, and that I think is the confusing part. The only way to remember is to be familiar with their usage. For me, this is not confusing  because I've encountered these words so many times in books, articles, etc.

fefwfwe · Answer

Ingenious means "clever". You can remember this because when pronounced it is pronounced "(in)genius" and genius is someone who is smart.

Brad Morrison · Answer

“ingenuous" does not mean “inborn"
The dictionary defines “ingenuous" as "innocent and unsuspecting." and is related to the word “ingenue," i.e., “an innocent or unsophisticated young woman, especially in a play or film."
The Latin “ingenuus" does mean “inborn," or “native." Its meaning is expressed in English as “indigenous."
Given that Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, it follows that indigenous people they conquered could have been considered ingenious (naive) because of their ignorance of Roman customs.

How to memorize differences between ingenious, ingenuous, and indigenous

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