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.
Her book abounds with busybody advocacy groups, donor advisory networks and consultancies run by know-nothing 20-somethings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
His know-nothing rabble-rousing appalled progressives who otherwise admired him for his principled stands against the Vietnam War and in favor of campaign finance reform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025
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
And then there is the deeper problem: You might be outed as a know-nothing interloper, a gawky tourist, when all many people want when they travel is to masquerade as “a local.”
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2018
“These know-nothing kids thinking Ali could’ve taken Joe Louis.”
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
