know-nothing
Americannoun
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an ignorant or totally uninformed person; ignoramus.
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an agnostic.
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(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.
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a person whose anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, and other political attitudes recall the Know-Nothings.
adjective
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grossly ignorant; totally uninformed.
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(initial capital letters) of or relating to the Know-Nothings.
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of or relating to a political know-nothing.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of know-nothing
First recorded in 1815–25; 1850–55 know-nothing for defs. 3, 7
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.
Who hasn’t had the experience of hearing some know-nothing proudly display his ignorance — whether in a bar, on a crowded plane or on Joe Rogan’s podcast?
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
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
But Atlanta, and its know-nothing Liberty Media ownership, seems unaware that analytics predict its five-man rotation will not have anybody with an ERA under 4.00 as everybody regresses toward previous career performance.
From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2019
I looked at her with my know-nothing face, but inside I was trembling.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
