- 1
Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent.
- The knowing and intelligent part of the world.
- 2
Deliberate, wilful.
- 3
Shrewd or showing clever awareness; discerning.
- a knowing rascal
- 4
Demonstrating knowledge of what is in fashion; stylish, chic.archaic
- ‘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.’
- Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair, but confessed that he had a hat in his hat-box; which was accordingly at once extracted from the hind-boot, and Tom equipped in his go-to-meeting roof, as his new friend called it.
- 5
Suggestive of private knowledge or understanding.
- Jon and Tyrion greet each other with the words that have been used against them as weapons, sharing a knowing smile.
- As family entertainment, it’s all perfectly fine. There are plenty of callbacks to the original to delight young fans (including a catchy new song from Shakira’s Gazelle) and plenty of knowing jokes for the adults in the audience.
syn. knowful