Ku Klux Klan

noun

ˈkü-ˈkləks-ˈklan How to pronounce Ku Klux Klan (audio)
also ˈkyü-
or ˈklü-
1
: a violent secret fraternal society founded in 1915 in Georgia to maintain white Protestant cultural and political power
also : any one of more than 20 hate (see hate entry 1 sense 1c) groups that associate themselves with the Ku Klux Klan
2
: a violent post-Civil War secret society founded in Tennessee in 1866 to upend the Black political and social power that was being established during Reconstruction

Note: This Ku Klux Klan had largely dissolved by the end of the 1870s.

Examples of Ku Klux Klan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs, including the future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, had grounded their argument partly in a Reconstruction-era federal statute, the Ku Klux Klan Act. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 That was the case in the United States during the legal segregation of African Americans in the South—some police officers were members of violent white supremacist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026 And the Ku Klux Klan, though diminished from its earlier power, had not disappeared. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026 The event comes nearly a week after anti-Muslim protesters gathered outside a Dearborn City Council meeting and Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers were found in nearby communities. — Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for Ku Klux Klan

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of Ku Klux Klan was in 1867

Rhymes for Ku Klux Klan

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Browse Nearby Words

Ku Kluxism
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klansman
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Cite this Entry

“Ku Klux Klan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ku%20Klux%20Klan. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on Ku Klux Klan

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Ku Klux Klan

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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