knave

American  

[neyv] / neɪv /

noun

knaves plural

1. an unprincipled, untrustworthy, or dishonest person.

   Synonyms:

   scapegrace, scamp, villain, blackguard

2. Cards. jack.

3. Archaic.

   1. a male servant.

   2. a man of humble position.

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knave British  

/ neɪv /

noun

1. archaic a dishonest man; rogue

2. another word for jack 1

3. obsolete a male servant

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Synonym Usage

Knave, rascal, rogue, scoundrel are disparaging terms applied to persons considered base, dishonest, or worthless. Knave, which formerly meant merely a boy or servant, in modern use emphasizes baseness of nature and intention: a dishonest and swindling knave. Rascal suggests shrewdness and trickery in dishonesty: a plausible rascal. A rogue is a worthless fellow who sometimes preys extensively upon the community by fraud: photographs of criminals in a rogues' gallery. A scoundrel is a blackguard and rogue of the worst sort: a thorough scoundrel. Rascal and rogue are often used affectionately or humorously ( an entertaining rascal; a saucy rogue ), but knave and scoundrel are not.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• knavishness
  noun
• knavish
  adjective
• knavishly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• knaves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of knave

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English cnafa; cognate with German Knabe “boy”; akin to Old Norse knapi “page, boy”

Explanation

You don't hear about knaves much these days: it's an older word for a rascal, a scoundrel, or a rogue. It isn't a compliment. If you read Shakespeare for long, you'll definitely see the word knave more than once. In Shakespeare, an important person like a king or a prince might call a thief a knave. Knaves always tend to be up to trouble. You don't want to trust a knave; knaves lie, deceive, and betray. Today, we might call a knave a "scoundrel" or a "good-for-nothing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

knave knaves

The late Renaissance came to life in knave overalls with blousy tops, sequined skirts that suggested chain mail armor and tapestry detailing on jacket sleeves.

From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2023

Dr. Seuss: Will: Thou knave who pens these “books” for youth, with talking fauna most uncouth: Thy “doctorate”? The thought’s absurd!

From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2020

Further, it tells you that the other gentleman is a knight, for if he were a knave, the answering knave would have said ‘‘Yes.’’

From Scientific American ● Feb. 26, 2019

He approvingly quotes the Scottish philosopher R. M. Wenley, who called it, among other things, the resort “of the knave, who knows just enough about life to deem himself able to laugh at it.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2018

Horatio grew mortified to learn that he had been followed without his knowledge and by such a knave.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Despite another two-plus centuries of self-regulation and government regulation, the line between honest men and knaves on Wall Street remains fluid.

From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026

It is led by a fool who is surrounded by knaves.

From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2023

I thought that these moms would want to talk about what they’d done wrong as parents to have raised sons who might be villains, or at least knaves.

From Time ● Sep. 6, 2017

Perhaps those who cannot function at such high levels of intellectual rigor should be referred to as knaves and simpletons.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2015

“What villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands! Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling