Ku Klux Klan

noun

ˈkü-ˈkləks-ˈklan 

 also  ˈkyü-,

 or  ˈklü-

1

: a violent secret fraternal society founded in 1915 in Georgia to maintain white Protestant cultural and political power

also : any one of more than 20 hate (see hate entry 1 sense 1c) groups that associate themselves with the Ku Klux Klan

2

: a violent post-Civil War secret society founded in Tennessee in 1866 to upend the Black political and social power that was being established during Reconstruction

Note: This Ku Klux Klan had largely dissolved by the end of the 1870s.

Examples of Ku Klux Klan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pike, who was a Freemason and was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, has also been identified by historians as possibly having been involved with the development of the Ku Klux Klan in the period after the Civil War. —NPR, 28 Oct. 2025

In this lawsuit, the racial dynamic of the Ku Klux Klan Act was turned on its head, with the plaintiffs alleging that UCSD and the San Diego Foundation were illegally conspiring to unfairly favor Black students and discriminate against non-Black students. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2025

The plaintiffs argued that the scholarship fund violated a series of laws, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was put in place to protect Black Americans in the South. —Calmatters, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025

Antifa activism traces its roots to anti-racist efforts aimed at opposing the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups, according to a June 2020 report from the Congressional Research Service. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for Ku Klux Klan

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan