knowing

American  

[noh-ing] / ˈnoʊ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. affecting, implying, or deliberately revealing shrewd knowledge of secret or private information.

   a knowing glance.

   Synonyms:

   perceptive, eloquent, significant, meaningful

2. that knows; having knowledge or information; intelligent.

3. shrewd, sharp, or astute.

4. conscious; intentional; deliberate.

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knowing British  

/ ˈnəʊɪŋ /

adjective

1. suggesting secret information or knowledge

2. wise, shrewd, or clever

3. deliberate; intentional

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noun

1. one cannot tell

Other Word Forms

• knowingly adverb
• knowingness noun

Etymology

Origin of knowing

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English knawynge (earlier knowende, knawande ); equivalent to know ¹ + -ing ²

Explanation

Something that's knowing is sneakily wise or perceptive. A knowing smile conveys a lot of information — it implies that you know a secret or are in on some background information. Picture Mona Lisa. A knowing glance tells its recipient that you've got them figured out or that you're aware of something they haven't shared with many people. You can use this adjective to simply mean "having knowledge" or "intentional" too, as when someone makes a knowing purchase of stolen goods. The noun version of knowing is also simple, meaning "the state of having knowledge or being aware."

Example Sentences

“Without even knowing anything about the U.S., I wanted to go there. That was the dream.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

Yes, chatbots are unusually persuasive, and writers pick up model biases without even knowing it, but the baseline isn’t some platonic ideal of a perfectly objective journalist.

From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026

Benjamin Gillham said he had been at Coopers Townhouse in Liverpool with his friend Laura when she put his name down "after a couple of drinks" for the song "without me knowing".

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

"I have also been told about the campaign for a Hillsborough Law and having listened to the reasons and knowing the story behind them, it surprises me that this is still to be introduced."

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Nor has he ever seen a great black-backed gull face to face, which keeps him on continuous guard should he find himself in close proximity with his archenemy without knowing it.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• insightful
• intelligent
• perceptive
• sophisticated