Adjacent Words

Knowing definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

KNOWING, ppr. no'ing.
1. Having clear and certain perception of.
2. a. Skillful; well informed; well instructed; as a knowing man.
The knowing and intelligent part of the world.
3. Conscious; intelligent.
A knowing prudent cause.
KNOWING, n. no'ing. Knowledge.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: evidencing the possession of inside information [syn: knowing, wise, wise to]
2: characterized by conscious design or purpose; "intentional damage"; "a knowing attempt to defraud"; "a willful waste of time" [syn: intentional, knowing]
3: alert and fully informed; "a knowing collector of rare books"; "surprisingly knowledgeable about what was going on" [syn: knowledgeable, knowing]
4: highly educated; having extensive information or understanding; "knowing instructors"; "a knowledgeable critic"; "a knowledgeable audience" [syn: knowing, knowledgeable, learned, lettered, well-educated, well-read] n
1: a clear and certain mental apprehension

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 14th century acquaintance, cognizance II. adjective Date: 14th century 1. having or reflecting knowledge, information, or intelligence 2. a. shrewdly and keenly alert ; astute <a knowing observer> b. indicating possession of exclusive inside knowledge or information <a knowing smile> 3. cognitive 4. deliberate <knowing interference in the affairs of another> • knowingly adverb • knowingness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. the state of being aware or informed of any thing. --adj. 1 usu. derog. cunning; sly. 2 showing knowledge; shrewd. Phrases and idioms: there is no knowing no one can tell. Derivatives: knowingness n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Know Know, v. t. [imp. Knew; p. p. Known; p. pr. & vb. n. Knowing.] [OE. knowen, knawen, AS. cn["a]wan; akin to OHG. chn["a]an (in comp.), Icel. kn["a] to be able, Russ, znate to know, L. gnoscere, noscere, Gr. ?, Skr. jn?; fr. the root of E. can, v. i., ken. (?). See Ken, Can to be able, and cf. Acquaint, Cognition, Gnome, Ignore, Noble, Note.] 1. To perceive or apprehend clearly and certainly; to understand; to have full information of; as, to know one's duty. O, that a man might know The end of this day's business ere it come! --Shak. There is a certainty in the proposition, and we know it. --Dryden. Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong. --Longfellow. 2. To be convinced of the truth of; to be fully assured of; as, to know things from information. 3. To be acquainted with; to be no stranger to; to be more or less familiar with the person, character, etc., of; to possess experience of; as, to know an author; to know the rules of an organization. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. --2 Cor. v. 21. Not to know me argues yourselves unknown. --Milton. 4. To recognize; to distinguish; to discern the character of; as, to know a person's face or figure. Ye shall know them by their fruits. --Matt. vil. 16. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. --Luke xxiv. 31. To know Faithful friend from flattering foe. --Shak. At nearer view he thought he knew the dead. --Flatman. 5. To have sexual commerce with. And Adam knew Eve his wife. --Gen. iv. 1. Note: Know is often followed by an objective and an infinitive (with or without to) or a participle, a dependent sentence, etc. And I knew that thou hearest me always. --John xi. 42. The monk he instantly knew to be the prior. --Sir W. Scott. In other hands I have known money do good. --Dickens. To know how, to understand the manner, way, or means; to have requisite information, intelligence, or sagacity. How is sometimes omitted. `` If we fear to die, or know not to be patient.'' --Jer. Taylor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knowing Know"ing, a. 1. Skilful; well informed; intelligent; as, a knowing man; a knowing dog. The knowing and intelligent part of the world. --South. 2. Artful; cunning; as, a knowing rascal. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knowing Know"ing, n. Knowledge; hence, experience. `` In my knowing.'' --Shak. This sore night Hath trifled former knowings. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

A knowing gesture or remark is one that shows that you understand something, for example the way that someone is feeling or what they really mean, even though it has not been mentioned directly. Ron gave her a knowing smile... Dan exchanged a knowing look with Harry. ADJ: usu ADJ n • knowingly He smiled knowingly. ADV

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Intelligent, skilful, competent, qualified, experienced, accomplished, proficient, well-informed. 2. Conscious, intelligent, percipient, thinking. 3. Expressive, significant, cunning.

Moby Thesaurus

Byzantine, Machiavellian, Machiavellic, acute, advised, aimed, aimed at, alive, all-knowing, apperceptive, appercipient, apprehending, apprehensive, arch, artful, astute, awake, aware, blase, brainy, bright, brilliant, broad-minded, cagey, calculated, calculating, canny, clever, cognizant, comprehending, conceptive, conceptual, conscious, considered, conspiratorial, conspiratory, contemplated, conversant, cosmopolitan, cosmopolite, crafty, cunning, cute, deceitful, deep, deep-laid, deliberate, deliberated, designed, designing, devious, diplomatic, discerning, discursive, disenchanted, disillusioned, eloquent, envisaged, envisioned, experienced, expert, expressive, feline, foxy, gnostic, guileful, hep, ideational, ingenious, insidious, insightful, intellectual, intelligent, intended, intentional, inventive, knowledgable, knowledgeable, learned, mature, matured, meaningful, meant, meditated, mindful, mondaine, nimble-witted, noetic, not born yesterday, not so dumb, observant, of design, old, omniscient, pawky, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, planned, politic, practiced, prehensile, private, profound, projected, proposed, purposed, purposeful, purposive, qualified, quick, quick-witted, rational, ready, reasonable, resourceful, ripe, ripened, sagacious, sage, sane, sapient, scheming, seasoned, secret, sensible, sentient, serpentine, sharp, sharp-witted, shifty, shrewd, significant, slick, slippery, sly, smart, smooth, snaky, sneaky, sophic, sophistical, sophisticate, sophisticated, stealthy, strategic, strong-minded, studied, subtile, subtle, supple, tactical, teleological, trickish, tricksy, tricky, tried, tried and true, understanding, veteran, vigilant, voluntary, vulpine, wary, watchful, well-informed, willful, wily, wise, wise as Solomon, witting, world-wise, worldly, worldly-wise