knowledge

knowl·edge

noun \ˈnä-lij\

Definition of KNOWLEDGE

1

obsolete : cognizance

2

a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique

b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one's information or understanding <answered to the best of my knowledge>

c : the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : cognition

d : the fact or condition of having information or of being learned <a person of unusual knowledge>

3

archaic : sexual intercourse

4

a : the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by humankind

b archaic : a branch of learning

Examples of KNOWLEDGE

1. She has little knowledge of fashion.
2. He has devoted himself to the pursuit of knowledge.
3. She gained a thorough knowledge of local customs.
4. Did you have any knowledge of her intentions?
5. At that time the word science had not been narrowed down to one kind of knowledge; it meant whatever was known, and men of learning were still able to possess most of it. —Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence, 2000
6. With their aid, he should be able to adapt himself selectively to his culture, rejecting its evils, stupidities and irrelevances, gratefully accepting all its treasures of accumulated knowledge … and practical wisdom. —Aldous Huxley, “Culture and the … ,” in Artificial Paradises,Mike Jay editor, 1999
7. The knowledge of the godawful way people act (their greed, their vicarious or direct violence), and of the youth and helplessness of those who died, leads to shame … —Harold Brodkey, New Yorker, 30 Jan. 1995

Origin of KNOWLEDGE

Middle English knowlege, from knowlechen to acknowledge, irregular from knowen

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to KNOWLEDGE

Synonyms

lore, science, wisdom

Antonyms

ignorance, illiteracy, illiterateness

Related Words

dope, information, intelligence, know, lowdown, news, skinny [slang]; data, evidence, facts; acquaintance, awareness, familiarity, literacy; erudition, learning, scholarship; expertise, know-how

Near Antonyms

ignorance, inexperience, innocence, nescience, unfamiliarity

Synonym Discussion of KNOWLEDGE

knowledge, learning, erudition, scholarship mean what is or can be known by an individual or by humankind. knowledge applies to facts or ideas acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience <rich in the knowledge of human nature>. learning applies to knowledge acquired especially through formal, often advanced, schooling <a book that demonstrates vast learning>. erudition strongly implies the acquiring of profound, recondite, or bookish learning <an erudition unusual even in a scholar>. scholarship implies the possession of learning characteristic of the advanced scholar in a specialized field of study or investigation <a work of first-rate literary scholarship>.

Rhymes with KNOWLEDGE

college