as in idiots
a stupid person
often disparaged her coworkers as a bunch of know-nothings
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Recent Examples of know-nothings
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
Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for know-nothings
Noun
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Those idiots are the primary reason Trump is president, while Kamala Harris, who condemns the military success like most of her fellow Democratic politicos, can’t even get traction in peddling her sour-grapes-loser book.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
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His strict and meticulous methodologies taught some of the smartest people on the planet how to behave like complete idiots, paving the way for a new generation of red-nosed fools to pratfall onto the stage.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
13 Jan. 2026
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Overwhelmingly, though, the most common response was to seek confirmation of their suspicions that Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were morons.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Even then, though, the popular take — the story of the lunatics taking over asylum — didn’t sit right with me.—
Paul Fischer,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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Beating these lunatics was incredible, right?—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Know-nothings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/know-nothings. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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