as in know-all
informal + disapproving
a person who talks and behaves like someone who knows everything
My neighbor is a real know-it-all, always telling me what to do.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of know-it-all
Those med students, cocky know-it-all Ogilvy (Lucas Iverson) and acerbic, perceptive Joy (Irene Choi), are drops in a flood of new faces that mark one of the few ways a show set in a single place can meaningfully scale up.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026
Normally, know-it-alls are kind of annoying.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 19 Dec. 2025
One of the most horrifying things imaginable is being stuck with a know-it-all who's eager to debate.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Ignore imposter syndrome and the opinions of know-it-alls.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for know-it-all
Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026
Normally, know-it-alls are kind of annoying.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 19 Dec. 2025
One of the most horrifying things imaginable is being stuck with a know-it-all who's eager to debate.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Ignore imposter syndrome and the opinions of know-it-alls.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for know-it-all
Recent Examples of Synonyms for know-it-all
Noun
-
How well hidden are the implications of using some other app that has an indirect path to our friendly know-all? top comment Apple's New iPhone Accessory Is Part Sock, Part Crossbody Strap 1d $150 - $230 ! ! !—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The 40-year-old singer Ryan Davis, a cowboy wiseacre with a drum machine and the patience for 11-minute anthems, riffs merrily on such existential mysteries.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
-
In 1982’s hit action comedy 48 Hours, a young Eddie Murphy plays a wiseacre criminal on parole in order to help a veteran cop, played by Nick Nolte, solve a case.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As disarming as Rockwell is with his wry balance of doofus, savant and wiseass, and as capable as Verbinski is at keeping the brushes with death coming at a sustained pace, the movie feels most original in its flashbacks.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Feb. 2026
-
One year after his debut in Top Secret! and one year before stepping up as Top Gun's Iceman, Kilmer led Martha Coolidge's comedy Real Genius, playing a Caltech wiz-kid (and hard-partying wiseass) tasked with designing a chemical laser.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The wise guys already view Denver suspiciously, casting them with the 12th-best odds to reach the Super Bowl next February.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Framing wise guys on murder charges for Whitey Bulger, looking the other way on a gangland hit by a BPD detective in Canton in 1976, the list of scandals is too great to even list them all.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Agnes came from a family of smarties.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The suffix -y here is the same as in words like doggy or smarty, used to form nicknames or informal descriptors.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This fuzzy, snout-nosed, smart aleck extraterrestrial whose name was Gordon Shumway crashed in the suburban garage of the Tanner family in California after escaping from the doomed planet of Melmac, which was destroyed by nuclear war.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
24 Aug. 2025
-
Newton scored and so did backcourt mate Cam Spencer, that different style of smart aleck, who had 20.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Know-it-all.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/know-it-all. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
