12 Phrases People Who Act Like They Know It All Use Constantly
Usually, they don't know very much at all.
fizkes | Shutterstock It's part of human nature to measure ourselves against other people. As social beings, we're always trying to figure out where we fit in and how our lives compare to everyone else's. But even though it's normal, constant comparison can be harmful to our mental health and sense of well-being.
Most people who define their self-image according to external factors feel like they aren't good enough, no matter what they do. But some people consider themselves superior to others and they act like they know it all. They view their accomplishments as proof that they're better than everyone else. They don’t hold back from telling the rest of the world just how smart they are.
Yet if you pay close attention to the phrases used by people who act like they know it all, you'll discover that deep down they're actually hiding how insecure they feel.
Here are 12 phrases used constantly by people who act like they know it all
1. 'Everybody knows that'
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This statement is a subtle insult and it's usually said to single someone out for not having the same information as a know-it-all. If you're talking to someone who acts like they know everything, and you acknowledge that you didn't know something, they might scoff and exclaim, "Everybody knows that." When someone says this phrase, they're trying to put you down while making themselves feel superior.
Psychologist Alfred Adler's view of human nature maintained that individual's share one common and fundamental purpose in life: to find belonging and feel significant. Adler believed that everyone is born with feelings of inferiority, which come from an innate sense of inadequacy that every person strives to overcome. Having an exaggerated sense of inferiority leads to an inferiority complex, which can be described as a person's perception that their characteristics and abilities are inferior to other people's.
Someone who has an inferiority complex often develops a superiority complex, in which they overestimate their capacity and act like they're more competent than others, in an attempt to overcome their inner feelings of worthlessness. People who use the phrase "Everybody knows that" are often overcompensating for their deep-seated insecurities by trying to put others down while elevating themselves.
2. 'It's so obvious'
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People who act like they know it all constantly use the phrase "It's so obvious." This phrase is a condescending way for someone to prove how smart they are by making other people feel bad that they don't know something.
Using this phrase can be a sign that someone is pretending to be more intelligent than they actually are. They say, "It's so obvious" to boost their confidence and make themselves feel better than everyone else.
Even if a fact or piece of information is obvious, emphasizing how obvious it is makes other people feel inferior, which is often the aim of people who act like they know it all.
3. 'I could have told you that'
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While someone who acts like they know it all might have high intelligence, sometimes they are hiding the fact that they actually know very little.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a type of thought process that happens when people think they're smarter than they really are. When someone has low intelligence coupled with a lack of self-awareness, they often don't know what they don't know, which makes them act like they know everything. They overestimate how skilled they are at various tasks and they don't recognize when they've made a mistake.
People who act like they know it all often believe that having expertise in one specific area means that they're good at everything. They say the phrase, "I could have told you that" because they think being good at one thing means they know everything.
4. 'I can't believe you didn't know that'
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People who act like they know it all constantly use the phrase "I can't believe you didn't know that." When someone uses this phrase, they're insinuating that whoever they're talking to isn't as smart as they are. The phrase is an example of having a condescending attitude, which is usually a sign of disrespect.
The Berkeley Well-Being Institute noted that showing condescension is a way to dismiss other people and make them feel bad about themselves. When a person acts like they know it all, they often treat people as though their beliefs aren't valid. They don't care about hearing someone else's perspective, and they discount other people's point of view if it doesn't match their own.
People who act like they know it all might not always realize that they're being condescending, but their tone of voice and the phrases they use make other people feel insignificant, which can have a negative impact on their self-esteem.
5. 'I'm an expert on this topic'
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Another phrase used constantly by people who act like they know it all is, "I'm an expert on this topic." People use this phrase to boost their self-esteem, while proclaiming that they know everything there is to know on a certain subject.
A research study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology focused on the idea of "belief superiority," which occurs when a person thinks their viewpoints are better than other people's. The study found that belief-superior people constantly overestimate how much they actually know.
"Whereas more humble participants sometimes even underestimated their knowledge, the belief superior tended to think they knew a lot more than they actually did," said Michael P. Hall, the lead author of the study.
The researchers noted that belief superiority can impede the effort a person makes to learn more about a particular subject. They're unwilling to challenge themselves or expand their minds, which often means they have way less expertise on a topic than they think they do.
6. 'I don't need your advice'
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People who act like they know it all constantly use the phrase "I don't need your advice." Because they truly believe that they know everything, they wind up turning people down when they offer support or suggestions.
Yet the truth is, everyone benefits from outside advice, because nobody knows everything all the time. Seeing a problem from someone else's perspective can lead to finding a solution you might never have considered before.
Mindfulness coach Moira Hutchinson shared that there are concrete benefits to asking other people for help, noting that "Giving and receiving help can enrich your life." When people ask others for help, they not only show their humanity, they also destigmatize the very idea that it's a bad thing to need support.
Hutchinson explained that asking for help enhances relationships, as it heightens the shared sense of intimacy between people and strengthens their emotional bonds.
7. 'Well, actually...'
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"Well, actually" is a fairly harsh and pointed way of letting someone know that you disagree with what they're saying. People who use this phrase do so to contradict others, while placing themselves on a pedestal.
"Well, actually" is a phrase that exhibits a lack of generosity and graciousness. Using this phrase is often an indication that a person wasn't raised with good manners, as it's an impolite way to speak to other people. There are kinder ways to let someone know that you hold a difference of opinion, like saying, "Respectfully, I disagree," or, "I believe the opposite to be true."
8. 'You probably don't know this, but...'
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People who act like they know it all often try to show off how much they know by using the phrase, "You probably don't know this, but," before they share a fact or a piece of information they think no one else knows. It's a subtle yet direct way to insult someone's intelligence, as it sends the message that someone really should have known what that person was about to say.
According to a study from the Association for Psychological Science, people who overestimate how much they know sometimes claim an understanding of concepts that don't actually exist, which is called "overclaiming."
Researchers found that people who overclaim "perceive their personal expertise favorably." Overclaimers believe that their level of knowledge makes them better than other people, even though they're falsely claiming to know what the researchers deemed "impossible knowledge."
9. 'I know for a fact that you're wrong'
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People say this phrase as a way to one-up others during a debate or intellectual discussion, without realizing that it makes them seem like they have a huge ego.
As the study from Journal of Experimental Social Psychology revealed, someone who believes their views are better than other views also perceives themselves as better informed on the topic than other people. Researchers noted that belief superiority is directly associated with attitude confidence and certainty, explaining that "the attitude correctness component of attitude certainty resembles belief superiority by similarly appealing to the notion that one's attitude or belief is singularly dominant."
The feeling of being right can make people feel like they're smarter than other people. Being right can also make people feel powerful. People who act like they know it all position themselves above other people as an assertion of their mental acuity and their intellectual dominance.
10. 'I know better than you'
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Used constantly by people who act like they know it all, the phrase "I know better than you" is designed to make the person on the receiving end feel like they aren't as smart or worthy as the person saying it.
A person who declares that they know better than someone else usually says so because they're trying to make themselves feel superior, yet as psychologist Nick Wignall pointed out, using criticism to boost your self-esteem is a habit that keeps you stuck in your own insecurity.
"Being overly critical of others is a subtle defense mechanism designed to boost your ego," Wignall explained. "When you feel chronically insecure, you're starved for good feelings about yourself and often desperate to find ways to make yourself feel better — even if it's short-lived."
When people who act like they know it all use this phrase, they might feel good about themselves for a brief moment, but that feeling usually won't last long, because it isn't rooted in a true foundation of self-worth.
11. 'It's common knowledge'
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People who act like they know it all constantly use the phrase "It's common knowledge" to indicate how much they know, while insulting the other person for not having access to that same information.
While a person might proclaim that something is "common knowledge," oftentimes the information they're sharing isn't actually widely known at all. Saying that something is common knowledge is a way for them to lift their self-image while simultaneously pushing other people down. They aren't satisfied until everyone around them knows how much they know. They boost their self-confidence through external validation, which means they show off their intelligence whenever they get the chance.
12. 'I've already mastered that'
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Know-it-alls use this phrase to boast about their talent and skill-level about any given task. They throw around the phrase "I've mastered that already" because they want to seem like they're so smart, they have nothing left to learn. While they think this phrase makes other people respect their intelligence, in reality, it highlights that they aren't as smart as they're pretending to be.
Curiosity and a desire to learn are signs of true intelligence. Someone who proclaims themselves a master shows that they still have a lot left to learn, they just don't want to admit it, so they act like they know it all.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.