I wrote this sentence and I would like to know whether the word "cleverly" is positive, negative (like e.g. cunningly) or neutral.
Lose weight cleverly in the privacy and comfort of your home!
Learn English – Does “cleverly” have a negative, positive or neutral meaning
connotations
Related Topic
- Learn English – Is emotional a negative word
- Learn English – Is the word ‘expensive’ negative or neutral
- Learn English – Could the word “interesting” have negative meaning
- Learn English – Can the word “exposure” be used to mean something positive
- Learn English – what can I say ”when someone shares a good experience/feeling”
Best Answer
Clever can have positive or negative overtones, but, more often than not, it's regarded as a positive term. (One exception is in the realm of writing software, where cleverness is not considered a virtue.)
That said, I don't think I have ever seen the word used in association with weight loss, and I wouldn't recommend it in your sentence. If you're trying to emphasize the practicality of home workouts, I think smart would be much better:
And I think it could be improved even more if you didn't use an adverb:
It's hard for me to explain why smart or sensible would be better than clever. The dictionary definition seems to fit just fine, but cleverness implies a certain level of genious that makes it seem like a bad fit for weight loss, unless maybe the rest of your paragraph delves into creative ways to exercise by turning parts of an ordinary home (such as stairs, doors, and furniture) into a home gym. To be smart is to be pragmatic, to be clever is to be surprisingly ingenious, and think of something that other people aren't likely to think of. In the case of losing weight at home, that sounds like an exaggeration.