Ku Klux Klan

noun

ˈkü-ˈkləks-ˈklan 

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

The white political elite of the former Confederacy assiduously fought the reforms that liberated African Americans, particularly the right to vote, introducing poll taxes and literacy tests, as well as resorting to terrorism by the likes of the Ku Klux Klan to turn back the clock. —Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026

But don’t forget, coming with that agenda were the most wild and hateful type of movements … the Ku Klux Klan. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 1 May 2026

The early 1900s, right after World War I, saw another increase in political violence sparked by labor issues and violence by the second generation of the Ku Klux Klan. —James Piazza, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2026

Authorities said hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis and other White nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus in 2017, shouting racist and antisemitic chants. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for Ku Klux Klan

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan