knotty, adj. 1. gnarled, gnarly, nodose, lumpy, bumpy; knarry, knurled, knarred; warped, contorted, distorted, cross-grained; bossy, protuberant, carun-culated; coarse, rough, uneven, unpolished, flawed, blemished.
2. tangled, entangled, raveled, twisted, convoluted, involute, mazelike, labyrinthine; anfractuous, sinuous, tortuous, winding; jumbled up, garbled, chaotic; complex, intricate, Byzantine, complicated, kaleidoscopic, daedal; perplexing, mystifying, baffling, puzzling, enigmatic; arduous, difficult, thorny, trying, tough; formidable, Herculean, obscure, crabbed, unfathomable, Inf. tough to figure, Inf. nasty.
know, v. 1. comprehend, realize, Inf. get through one's head, Inf. have the hang of, grasp, Inf. lay hold of, Inf. catch on, SI. latch onto, Inf. get a fix on, Inf. get it, Inf have it; understand, fathom, penetrate, SI. savvy; discern, make out, Inf. make heads or tails of, perceive, apprehend, receive, sense, recognize, see, see through, see the light, get the picture, read, read [s.o.] like a book, Brit. twig.
2. possess, have memorized, have learned by heart; have stored, have in one's head, have at one's fingertips, have at the tip of one's tongue; know inside out, know backward and forward, know backwards, know down to the ground, know from A to Z, Brit, know from A to Zed.
3. cognize, be cognizant of, Chiefly Scot. ken, be aware of, be conscious of, be enlightened, be familiar with, appreciate.
4. be intimate with, be thick with, be close to, fraternize with, be amiable with, be friends with, socialize with; be in the good graces of, be on good terms with, be on good footing with, have dealings with, be conversant with, have the ear of.
5. Usu.
know how to remember, recall, recollect; have expertise in, be accomplished in, have experience in, have know-how, have savoir-faire, have the knack, be sophisticated about; be aware, be worldly, be worldly-wise, have savoir-vivre, SI. be hip, SI. be with it, SI. be on the ball.
6. distinguish, discriminate, know which is which, know a hawk from a handsaw, Inf. tell day from night.
7. know the ropes Inf. have down pat, Inf. have down cold, Inf. know one's stuff, SI. know one's onions. -n. 8. cognizance, awareness. See - knowledge.
9. in the know privy to, Inf. tipped off, Inf having the low-down. See - knowledgeable (defs. 2, 3).
knowable, adj. 1. comprehensible, cognizable, cognoscible, conceivable, realizable, intelligible, understandable, fathomable, penetrable; ascertainable, discoverable, acquirable, learnable, memorizable.
2. discernible, perceptible, apprehensible, appreciable, legible, decipherable; recognizable, conspicuous, observable, noticeable, seeable, visible, material, sensible.
3. apparent, distinct, unambiguous, unequivocal, express, explicit; defined, clear, crystal clear, clear as day; unclouded, unobscure, unobscured, undisguised, unscreened; transparent, transpicuous, obvious, evident, manifest, unmistakable, clear cut, plain, plain as day, plain as the nose on your face; palpable, patent, ostensible; bare, naked, uncloaked, undraped, uncovered, uncurtained, unshrouded, unveiled, unmasked; exposed, revealed, disclosed, unconcealed; luminous, lucid, perspicuous, translucent, pellucid,
know-how, n. 1. expertise, knowledge, expertness, savoir-faire, mastery, experience; proficiency, adeptness, capableness, capability, competence.