Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

knavish

/ˈneɪvɪʃ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.34 in modern English

Syllables
knav-ish
IPA
/ˈneɪvɪʃ/
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Having the characteristics of a knave; mischievous, roguish, waggish, rascally or impertinent.

Etymology

From Middle English knavych, knavyssh; equivalent to knave + -ish.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈneɪvɪʃ/

Inflected Forms

more knavish (comparative) most knavish (superlative)

Derived Forms

knavishly knavishness

Synonyms

crafty cunning dodgy foxy guileful slick sly tricksy tricky wily

Rhymes With

slavish

Questions

How do you pronounce knavish?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈneɪvɪʃ/.
What does knavish mean?
Having the characteristics of a knave; mischievous, roguish, waggish, rascally or impertinent.
Where does knavish come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce knavish

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “knavish”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈneɪvɪʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “knavish”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “knavish” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.