know-nothing
noun
know-noth·ing
ˈnō-ˌnə-thiŋ 
2
Know-Nothing
: a member of a 19th century secret American political organization hostile to the political influence of recent immigrants and Roman Catholics
know-nothing
adjective
Examples of know-nothing in a Sentence
often disparaged her coworkers as a bunch of know-nothings
Recent Examples on the Web
That said, what’s more insufferable—a skeptical know-it-all or a proud know-nothing?
—
Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
How about the Hollywood know-nothings Susan Sarandon or Mark Ruffalo, who have so much to say about the suffering of Hamas terrorists but not a peep for people being brutalized and murdered by actual terrorists?
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026
What kind of bizarro-world finds Dr. Anthony Fauci labeled a know-nothing criminal and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Then there are those who rage against their children’s accomplishments, clinging to the hierarchy agreed upon when the child was a helpless know-nothing.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
Lewis’s superficial attack abets the know-nothing Trump Administration, which spurns cooperative allies and rational arrangements.
—Harper’s Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
The secret is that Spike’s know-nothing naivete encourages us to see the world through the eyes of someone who’s new to every part of it.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 June 2025
After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025
Even as Republicans embrace him as an iconoclast, Democrats and other critics have lambasted Kennedy as a know-nothing without the scientific or bureaucratic experience to do the job effectively.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
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Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
How about the Hollywood know-nothings Susan Sarandon or Mark Ruffalo, who have so much to say about the suffering of Hamas terrorists but not a peep for people being brutalized and murdered by actual terrorists?
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026
What kind of bizarro-world finds Dr. Anthony Fauci labeled a know-nothing criminal and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Then there are those who rage against their children’s accomplishments, clinging to the hierarchy agreed upon when the child was a helpless know-nothing.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
Lewis’s superficial attack abets the know-nothing Trump Administration, which spurns cooperative allies and rational arrangements.
—Harper’s Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
The secret is that Spike’s know-nothing naivete encourages us to see the world through the eyes of someone who’s new to every part of it.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 June 2025
After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025
Even as Republicans embrace him as an iconoclast, Democrats and other critics have lambasted Kennedy as a know-nothing without the scientific or bureaucratic experience to do the job effectively.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Know-nothing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/know-nothing. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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