knowledgeable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of knowledgeable
Explanation
Someone who is knowledgeable is highly educated and well versed in a particular subject. Making it your life goal to become knowledgeable about naked mole rats might not win you the Nobel Prize, but it might be fun. It’s interesting to note the shift in meaning of the adjective knowledgeable from when it was first recorded in the 1600s and now. Originally, knowledgeable was spelled without the second -e, and meant “capable of being known, recognizable.” Now, though, we use the adjective to describe that which has or displays knowledge. If you're well-read and alert, you're knowledgeable about the ways of the world.
Vocabulary lists containing knowledgeable
Words to Describe Yourself on a Resume
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Words to Describe a Teacher
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Employment, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Knowledgeable people tell Barron’s that some large real estate investors considered bidding, but concluded that Braemar shareholders wouldn’t approve a deal that triggered the termination fee.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
Knowledgeable sources attributed her departure to months of strife and persistent criticism from Redstone, who serves as Paramount’s chair.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2025
Knowledgeable ornithologists looking at the magpies in the credit sequence might notice that something is a bit off.
From Salon • Nov. 14, 2022
Knowledgeable scientists who donate time as peer reviewers are already stretched thin, trying to understand how the coronavirus affects the body, or to find treatments and vaccines.
From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2020
Knowledgeable men and women in Ireland sometimes distinguish between the simples that work cures by some medical property in the herb, and those that do their work by magic.
From Ideas of Good and Evil by Yeats, W. B. (William Butler)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
