English Explanatory Dictionary

informant

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One who relays confidential information to someone, especially to the police; an informer.
  2. A native speaker who acts as a linguistic reference for a language being studied. The informant demonstrates native pronunciation, provides grammaticality judgments regarding linguistic well-formedness, and may also explain cultural references and other important contextual information.

Pronunciation

/ɪnˈfɔːmənt/ /ɪnˈfɔɹmənt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-informant.wav

Word forms

informant informants

Etymology

From inform + -ant.

Synonyms

consultant abaddon accuser beefer bewrayer bigmouth blabber blabtale blabtongue canary CI finger fink fizgig gossip grass informant informer jurat leak mole narc nark nonce outer peacher quisling rat ratfink rooster sneak snitch snout squealer state's evidence stooge stool pigeon stoolie supergrass sycophant tattler tattletale telltale tit telltale tout whistleblower

Related words

name names rat out gossiper

Derived words

confidential informant disinformant misinformant multiinformant
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