as in idiot
a stupid person
often disparaged her coworkers as a bunch of know-nothings
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Recent Examples of know-nothing
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
The first half hour is filled with the weirdly neutral techno jargon of soldiers jabbering code words into their headphones to what I (as a know-nothing) am tempted to call Mission Control.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Mar. 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
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
The first half hour is filled with the weirdly neutral techno jargon of soldiers jabbering code words into their headphones to what I (as a know-nothing) am tempted to call Mission Control.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Mar. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for know-nothing
Noun
-
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
-
There is nothing in the past year that suggests that the portion of this global event that will take place in the U.S. will proceed with anything less than exhausting chaos, a spoonful of stupid, and a dash of tragedy.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Jan. 2026
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And then, the rest of her life, filled with big stupids and everything else, will begin.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
19 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Know-nothing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/know-nothing. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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