knowing
Americanadjective
-
affecting, implying, or deliberately revealing shrewd knowledge of secret or private information.
a knowing glance.
- Synonyms:
- perceptive, eloquent, significant, meaningful
-
shrewd, sharp, or astute.
-
conscious; intentional; deliberate.
adjective
-
suggesting secret information or knowledge
-
wise, shrewd, or clever
-
deliberate; intentional
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No viewer should—or likely would—encounter this documentary by director Jessica Dimmock without knowing something about it, specifically that on Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
He would go home and sketch chain designs for players he’d met, knowing nothing about the jewelry industry.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
“It was both about genuinely wanting to introduce ourselves and knowing that that was going to be an ongoing conversation, perhaps not one that you accomplish overnight,” Philion said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Tom says knowing the coroner ruled that there was a "missed opportunity" to help Adam has made him "upset" and "mad at the situation".
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
I was so ignorant, so steeped in not knowing, that I did not even know what I didn’t know.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
