inform
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in·form
(ĭn-fôrm′)v. in·formed, in·form·ing, in·forms
v.tr.
1.
a. To impart information to; make aware of something: We were informed by mail of the change in plans. The nurse informed me that visiting hours were over.
b. To acquaint (oneself) with knowledge of a subject.
2.
a. To give form or character to; imbue with a quality or an essence: "A society's strength is measured by ... its ability to inform a future generation with its moral standards" (Vanity Fair).
b. To be a formative or characterizing presence in; animate: "It is this brash, backroom sensibility that informs his work as a novelist" (Jeff Shear).
3. Obsolete To form (the mind or character) by teaching or training.
v.intr.
1. To give or provide information.
2. To disclose confidential or incriminating information to an authority: The defendant informed against the other members of the ring.
[Middle English enfourmen, informen, from Old French enfourmer, from Latin īnfōrmāre : in-, in; see in-2 + fōrmāre, to fashion (from fōrma, form).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
inform
(ɪnˈfɔːm)vb
1. (tr; often foll by of or about) to give information to; tell
2. (tr; often foll by of or about) to make conversant (with)
3. (intr; often foll by against or on) to give information regarding criminals, as to the police, etc
4. to give form to
5. (Philosophy) to impart some essential or formative characteristic to
6. (tr) to animate or inspire
7. (tr) obsolete
a. to train or educate
b. to report
[C14: from Latin informāre to give form to, describe, from formāre to form]
inˈformable adj
informedly adv
inˈformingly adv
inform
(ɪnˈfɔːm)adj
archaic without shape; unformed
[C16: from Latin informis from in-1 + forma shape]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
in•form
(ɪnˈfɔrm)v.t.
1. to give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance to: We informed them of our arrival.
2. to supply (oneself) with knowledge of a matter or subject: She informed herself of all the pertinent facts.
3. to pervade or permeate with manifest effect: A love of nature informed his writing.
4. to animate or inspire.
5. Obs.
v.i. a. to train or instruct.
b. to make known; disclose.
c. to give or impart form to.
6. to give information; supply knowledge or enlightenment.
7. to furnish incriminating evidence about someone, as to the police (usu. fol. by on or against).
[1275–1325; Middle English enfourmen < Middle French enfourmer < Latin infōrmāre to form, shape]
in•form′a•ble, adj.
in•form′ing•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
inform
If you inform someone of something, you tell them about it.
He intended to inform her of his objections.
Inform is often followed by a 'that'-clause.
I informed her that I was unwell.
She informed me that she had not changed her plans.
You do not usually omit that after inform. You do not say, for example, 'I informed her I was unwell'.
Inform is a fairly formal word. In conversation, you usually use tell.
See tell
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
inform
Past participle: informed
Gerund: informing
| Imperative |
|---|
| inform |
| inform |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. | inform - impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to; "I informed him of his rights" wise up - cause someone to become aware of something communicate, intercommunicate - transmit thoughts or feelings; "He communicated his anxieties to the psychiatrist" instruct, teach, learn - impart skills or knowledge to; "I taught them French"; "He instructed me in building a boat" inoculate - introduce an idea or attitude into the mind of; "My teachers inoculated me with their beliefs" acquaint - inform; "Please acquaint your colleagues of your plans to move" warn - notify, usually in advance; "I warned you that I would ask some difficult questions" inform - act as an informer; "She had informed on her own parents for years" fill in - supply with information on a specific topic; "He filled me in on the latest developments" update - bring up to date; supply with recent information tell on, snitch, stag, shop, denounce, give away, betray, grass, rat - give away information about somebody; "He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam" undeceive - free from deception or illusion warn - notify of danger, potential harm, or risk; "The director warned him that he might be fired"; "The doctor warned me about the dangers of smoking" apprise, apprize, notify, send word, give notice, advise - inform (somebody) of something; "I advised him that the rent was due" familiarise, familiarize, acquaint - make familiar or conversant with; "you should acquaint yourself with your new computer"; "We familiarized ourselves with the new surroundings" cue, remind, prompt - assist (somebody acting or reciting) by suggesting the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned volunteer - tell voluntarily; "He volunteered the information" acquaint, introduce, present - cause to come to know personally; "permit me to acquaint you with my son"; "introduce the new neighbors to the community" regret - express with regret; "I regret to say that you did not gain admission to Harvard" point, indicate, designate, show - indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively; "I showed the customer the glove section"; "He pointed to the empty parking space"; "he indicated his opponents" indicate - to state or express briefly; "indicated his wishes in a letter" suggest, indicate - suggest the necessity of an intervention; in medicine; "Tetracycline is indicated in such cases" nark - inform or spy (for the police) explain, explicate - make plain and comprehensible; "He explained the laws of physics to his students" tell - let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late" recount, narrate, tell, recite - narrate or give a detailed account of; "Tell what happened"; "The father told a story to his child" narrate - provide commentary for a film, for example report, describe, account - to give an account or representation of in words; "Discreet Italian police described it in a manner typically continental" report - make known to the authorities; "One student reported the other to the principal" report, cover - be responsible for reporting the details of, as in journalism; "Snow reported on China in the 1950's"; "The cub reporter covered New York City" disabuse - free somebody (from an erroneous belief) remonstrate, point out - present and urge reasons in opposition bear witness, evidence, testify, prove, show - provide evidence for; "The blood test showed that he was the father"; "Her behavior testified to her incompetence" |
| 2. | inform - give character or essence to; "The principles that inform modern teaching" | |
| 3. | inform - act as an informer; "She had informed on her own parents for years" inform - impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to; "I informed him of his rights" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
inform
verb
1. tell, advise, let someone know, notify, brief, instruct, enlighten, acquaint, leak to, communicate to, fill someone in, keep someone posted, apprise, clue someone in (informal), put someone in the picture (informal), tip someone off, send word to, give someone to understand, make someone conversant (with) They would inform him of any progress they had made.
inform on someone betray, report, denounce, shop (slang, chiefly Brit.), peach (slang), give someone away, incriminate, tell on (informal), blow the whistle on (informal), grass on (Brit. slang), double-cross (informal), rat on (informal), spill the beans on (informal), stab someone in the back, nark (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. slang), blab about, squeal on (slang), snitch on (slang), put the finger on (informal), sell someone down the river (informal), blow the gaff on (Brit. slang), tell all on, inculpate, dob someone in (Austral. & N.Z. informal) Somebody must have informed on us.
Proverbs
"Never tell tales out of school"
"Never tell tales out of school"
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
inform
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُبْلِغُ عَنْيُبْلِغ عَن، يوشييُخْبِر، يُعْلِم
informovatudávatdonášet
informeremeddeleoplyseangive
tiedottaa
obavijestiti
láta vita, tilkynnasegja til, bera vitni gegn
知らせる
알리다
informacijainformacijos arterijainformacinė technologijainformatoriusinformatyvus
denuncētinformētnosūdzētpaziņot
donášať
obvestiti
upplysa
แจ้งให้ทราบ
bildirmekbilgi vermekhaber vermekihbar etmek
thông báo
inform
[ɪnˈfɔːm]A. VT (= give information) → informar, avisar; (= bring up to date) → poner al corriente
to inform sb about or of sth → informar a algn sobre or de algo
I am pleased to inform you that → tengo el gusto de comunicarle que ...
keep me informed → téngame or manténgame al corriente
why was I not informed? → ¿por qué no me informaron or avisaron?
to inform o.s. about sth → informarse sobre algo
see also well-informed
to inform sb about or of sth → informar a algn sobre or de algo
I am pleased to inform you that → tengo el gusto de comunicarle que ...
keep me informed → téngame or manténgame al corriente
why was I not informed? → ¿por qué no me informaron or avisaron?
to inform o.s. about sth → informarse sobre algo
see also well-informed
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
inform
[ɪnˈfɔːrm] vt
(= tell) → informer
They will inform us if there are any new developments → Ils nous informeront s'il y a de nouveaux développements.
to inform sb of sth → informer qn de qch
Nobody informed me of the new plan → Personne ne m'a informé de ce nouveau projet.
to inform sb about sth → informer qn sur qch
to inform sb (that) → informer qn que
see also informed
They will inform us if there are any new developments → Ils nous informeront s'il y a de nouveaux développements.
to inform sb of sth → informer qn de qch
Nobody informed me of the new plan → Personne ne m'a informé de ce nouveau projet.
to inform sb about sth → informer qn sur qch
to inform sb (that) → informer qn que
see also informed
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
inform
vt
person → informieren (→ about über +acc), → unterrichten; to inform somebody of something → jdn von etw unterrichten, jdn über etw informieren; to inform somebody (that) … → jdn informieren, dass …; I am pleased to inform you that … → ich freue mich, Ihnen mitteilen zu können or Sie davon in Kenntnis setzen zu können (form), → dass …; to inform the police → die Polizei verständigen or benachrichtigen or informieren; to keep somebody/oneself informed → jdn/sich auf dem Laufenden halten (→ of über +acc); to inform oneself about something → sich über etw (acc) → informieren; until we are better informed → bis wir Näheres wissen or besser Bescheid wissen or genauer informiert sind; she is better informed than most of her colleagues → sie ist besser informiert als die meisten ihrer Kollegen; why was I not informed? → warum wurde mir das nicht mitgeteilt?, warum wurde ich nicht (darüber) informiert?; I should like to be informed just as soon as he arrives → unterrichten Sie mich bitte sofort von seiner Ankunft, informieren Sie mich bitte sofort über seine Ankunft
(liter, = permeate) → durchdringen, erfüllen
vi to inform against or on somebody → jdn anzeigen or denunzieren (pej)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
inform
[ɪnˈfɔːm]1. vt → informare, avvertire
to inform sb about/of sth → informare or avvertire qn di qc
I am happy to inform you that → sono lieto di comunicarle che
keep me informed → tienimi informato
a well-informed person → una persona di cultura
to inform sb about/of sth → informare or avvertire qn di qc
I am happy to inform you that → sono lieto di comunicarle che
keep me informed → tienimi informato
a well-informed person → una persona di cultura
2. vi to inform on sb → denunciare qn
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
inform
(inˈfoːm) verb1. to tell; to give knowledge to. Please inform me of your intentions in this matter; I was informed that you were absent from the office.
2. (with against or on) to tell facts to eg the police about (a criminal etc). He informed against his fellow thieves.
inˈformant noun someone who tells or informs. He passed on the news to us, but would not say who his informant had been.
ˌinforˈmation noun facts told or knowledge gained or given. Can you give me any information about this writer?; the latest information on the progress of the war; He is full of interesting bits of information.
inˈformative (-mətiv) adjective giving useful information. an informative book.
inˈformer noun a person who informs against a criminal etc.
ˌinformation ˌsuperˈhighway noun a fast computer channel through which information, pictures etc are sent from one computer to another.
inforˈmation techˌnology noun the study and use of electronic systems and computers for storing, analysing and utilizing information.
information does not have a plural: some information ; any information .Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
inform
→ يُبْلِغُ عَنْ informovat informere informieren πληροφορώ informar tiedottaa informer obavijestiti informare 知らせる 알리다 informeren informere poinformować informar сообщать upplysa แจ้งให้ทราบ bilgi vermek thông báo 告知Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
inform
v. informar, comunicar, avisar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012