knowing means possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent.
knowing is pronounced /ˈnəʊɪŋ/.
Why “knowing” is a great word
Possessing knowledge, understanding, or shrewd awareness, often in a deliberate or willful manner. From Middle English, formed from the verb 'know' (from Old English cnāwan, 'to know, perceive, recognize') with the suffix '-ing' (forming present participles and adjectives). Unlike 'knowledgeable,' which suggests a broad possession of facts, or 'naive,' its direct opposite in worldly awareness, 'knowing' implies a secretive, often ironic penetration of the unstated. It is the gleam in a shared glance across a crowded room, the subtle arch of an eyebrow at a bald-faced lie, and the slow, deliberate sip from a glass when an inconvenient truth hangs in the air—a quiet complicity with the way things truly are, and perhaps should not be.
Etymology
From know + -ing.
adj
- Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent.e.g.“The knowing and intelligent part of the world.” — 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
- Deliberate, wilful.
- Shrewd or showing clever awareness; discerning.e.g.“a knowing rascal”
- Demonstrating knowledge of what is in fashion; stylish, chic.e.g.“‘I was a raw boy from College, and fancied it very knowing to marry a girl that all the young fellows of my acquaintance reckoned so confounded handsome.’” — 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 173:
- Suggestive of private knowledge or understanding.e.g.“Jon and Tyrion greet each other with the words that have been used against them as weapons, sharing a knowing smile.” — 2017 July 30, Ali Barthwell, “Ice and fire finally meet in a front-loaded episode of Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:
noun
- The act or condition of having knowledge.e.g.“Sensations then, are not perceivings, observings or findings; they are not detectings, scannings or inspectings; they are not apprehendings, cognisings, intuitings or knowings.” — 2009, Gilbert Ryle, The Concept of Mind (60th Anniversary Edition, 1949, page 194)
prep
- Given my knowledge about someone or something.e.g.“Knowing you, you would try not to be late for school.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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