know-nothing

[noh-nuhth-ing]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR know-nothing ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an ignorant or totally uninformed person; ignoramus.

(initial capital letters) U.S. History. 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.

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

adjective

grossly ignorant; totally uninformed.

agnostic.

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

of or relating to a political know-nothing.

Nearby words

Origin of know-nothing

First recorded in 1815–25

Related formsknow-noth·ing·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for know-nothing

Such revelations seem like the dream come true of know-nothing anti-Catholicism.
The Vatican's Sex Cover-up|James Carroll|March 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Predictably enough, a certain brand of know-nothing militarist sees the need for yet another war.
Fighting Yemen's Terror Factory|Matthew Yglesias|December 31, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Now the Russians recognize that Obama will be very different from his know-nothing predecessor.
Cold War II?|Martin Sieff|November 17, 2008|DAILY BEAST
To be sure, patriot-Americans are not know-nothing nativists or backwater rubes, nor are post-Americans traitors.
A 'Black President' Is of No Value to America|Rich Benjamin|November 4, 2008|DAILY BEAST

One factor which greatly baffled the calculations and forecast of politicians was the Know-Nothing or American party.
Abraham Lincoln, A History, Volume 2|John George Nicolay and John Hay
In my part of the state there are no Know-Nothing organizations of whose members I have any knowledge.
The Life of Lyman Trumbull|Horace White
Only the nomination of a Know-Nothing candidate complicated the issues which were thus drawn.
Stephen A. Douglas|Allen Johnson
Seems as if there was something the matter with you, beyond what that know-nothing doctor said.
Reels and Spindles|Evelyn Raymond
The "Know-Nothing" movement was a sort of political carnival, half jest, half earnest, and good for that trip only.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 89, March, 1865|Various

British Dictionary definitions for know-nothing

know-nothing

noun

informal, derogatory an ignorant person

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for know-nothing

know-nothing

"ignoramus," 1827, from know + nothing. As a U.S. nativist political party, active 1853-56, the name refers to the secret society at the core of the party, about which members were instructed to answer, if asked about it, that they "know nothing." The party eventually merged into the Republican Party.