Meaning & use
knave
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedliterary
A dishonest or untrustworthy man.
Grammar: Old-fashioned and literary; used in historical stories.
The king called the thief a knave.
In the play, the knave tricks his master.
He was a knave who cheated every customer.
nouncountableBritishold-fashioned
The playing card, also called the jack, ranking between the ten and the queen.
Grammar: Mostly British and old-fashioned; the American term is jack.
Patterns
- knave of hearts
She laid the knave of hearts on the table.
The knave beat the ten.
He held a knave and two aces.
nouncountablearchaic
A male servant or low-ranking worker in historical use.
Grammar: Historical; used in older texts.
A young knave carried the lord's bags.
The knave swept the castle floors.
Knaves were paid very little.
Word forms
| plural | knaves |
|---|
Common combinations
- knave of hearts
- The knave of hearts stole the tarts in the rhyme.
- fool and knave
- The play has a fool and a knave.
- scheming knave
- A scheming knave tried to cheat the heir.
- cunning knave
- The cunning knave escaped again.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rogue
- Rogue can sound charming and playful, while knave is plainly dishonest.
- scoundrel
- Scoundrel is stronger and more modern than knave.
- villain
- Villain suggests a serious wrongdoer in a story.
- jack
- Jack is the usual modern name for the card.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: knave or nave? knave or naive?
knave vs nave
A nave is the central part of a church, pronounced the same but unrelated to dishonest men.
knave vs naive
Naive means innocent and inexperienced, not dishonest.
Practice
In older stories, a knave is most likely to be...
Choose one answer.
A knave is a dishonest man. A nave is part of a church, a different word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “knave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.