For some reason the word knowingly drives me nuts. In general, any word ending in -ingly is irritating. It's already an adjective. Why must you make it an adverb? There have to be other adverbs in the English language. Pick one of those.
Anyway, knowingly is especially annoying to me, mostly because it usually means nothing.
"I like ice cream," I said.
"Ice cream is delicious," he replied knowingly.
It doesn't tell you anything about how he said it. Does it mean he was confident or smug? Those are descriptions. Knowing is not a descriptive description.
For some reason I become especially irritated by the phrase smiled knowingly. Any time I read something like she smiled knowingly, I want to punch her in the face, whether or not I know who she is or if it's even possible to punch her in the face.
There's nothing inherently wrong with it. It's just annoying.
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