Informer

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One who informs someone else about something.
  2. 2
    one who reveals confidential information to the police or other authority wordnet
  3. 3
    A person who tells authorities about improper or illegal activity.

    "Being an informer often meant living in fear."

  4. 4
    One who informs, animates, or inspires.

    "1729, Alexander Pope, Prologue to Sophonisba (by James Thomson Nature, informer of the poet's art."

Synonyms

All synonyms
informantaccusantaccuseradviserallegatorannouncer

Example

More examples

"Tom found out that John was a police informer."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English enformour, from Anglo-Norman enfourmour; equivalent to inform + -er.

Related phrases

name names

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.