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.
She said AeroWomen is getting the next generation "thinking 'I want to do this' and then seeing someone that does it, and then knowing that that's a thing that you possibly can do".
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
Hopefully, you won’t need it, but knowing it’s there should provide some peace of mind.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Part of what I was exploring was the idea of not really knowing who these people are.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Or they’ll cut their losses and support him, knowing that whoever’s next in line would probably be worse.
From Slate • Jun. 6, 2026
And, in knowing it, I realize that I know even less about my family and my past than I’d thought.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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.
