know-nothing

American  

[noh-nuhth-ing] / ˈnoʊˌnʌθ ɪŋ /

noun

1. an ignorant or totally uninformed person; ignoramus.

2. an agnostic.

3. (initial capital letters) a member of a political party American party, or Know-Nothing party prominent from 1853 to 1856, whose aim was to keep control of the government in the hands of native-born citizens: so called because members originally professed ignorance of the party's activities.

4. a person whose anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, and other political attitudes recall the Know-Nothings.

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adjective

1. grossly ignorant; totally uninformed.

2. agnostic.

3. (initial capital letters) of or relating to the Know-Nothings.

4. of or relating to a political know-nothing.

know-nothing British  

noun

1. informal an ignorant person

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Other Word Forms

• know-nothingism noun

Etymology

Origin of know-nothing

First recorded in 1815–25; 1850–55 know-nothing for defs. 3, 7

Example Sentences

His know-nothing rabble-rousing appalled progressives who otherwise admired him for his principled stands against the Vietnam War and in favor of campaign finance reform.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025

The effort always includes promotional videos, such as one this summer featuring a know-it-all who is exposed as a know-nothing because he doesn’t know where tickets are sold.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2022

Strong has a way of conveying the tight, pointed superficiality of a know-nothing execu-bro who radiates enough competence to pull a room's attention.

From Salon • Oct. 17, 2021

And then there is the deeper problem: You might be outed as a know-nothing interloper, a gawky tourist, when all many people want when they travel is to masquerade as “a local.”

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2018

‘I is not a very know-all giant myself, but it seems to me that you is an absolutely know-nothing human bean. Your brain is full of rotten-wool.’

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

Related Words

• ignorant
• illiterate
• unschooled