inform

verb in·form \ in-ˈfȯrm \

Definition of inform

transitive verb

1 obsolete :to give material form to

2 a :to give character or essence to

the principles which inform modern teaching

b :to be the characteristic quality of :animate

the compassion that informs her work

3 obsolete :guide, direct

4 obsolete :to make known

5 :to communicate knowledge to

inform a prisoner of his rights

intransitive verb

1 :to impart information or knowledge

2 :to give information (as of another's wrongdoing) to an authority

informed on a member of his own gang

See inform defined for English-language learners

See inform defined for kids

Examples of inform in a Sentence

The book will entertain and inform you.
The arresting officer failed to inform the suspect of his rights.
He failed to inform the suspect that he had the right to remain silent.
We haven't yet been informed of her decision.
Frequent reports from the battlefield kept the general informed about how the attack was progressing.
The book will both entertain and inform.
His Catholic upbringing informs all his writing.

Recent Examples of inform from the Web

The insurer, which informed customers of the breach in a second letter and apologized, said some letters may have shifted in the envelope.

— zachary tracer, Bloomberg.com, "Aetna Accidentally Reveals HIV Status of Clients in Mailing to 12,000," 24 Aug. 2017
If the classic Tolkien-style fantasy world is in some obscure way informed by Europe, the area that is at once shrouded in mystery and treated with incuriosity is whatever the particular world’s equivalent to America would be.

— adrian daub, Longreads, "Here at the End of All Things," 24 Aug. 2017
Writer and translator Ken Liu, whose fantasy novels, informed by Asian history and art, wrote a literary address for the festival.

— anika gupta, Smithsonian, "At the Smithsonian’s first Asian-American Lit Fest, Writers Share Falooda, Politics and Poetry," 24 Aug. 2017
Lessons learned could inform improved due diligence for future contract negotiations, or the structure could be more palatable through State control ( toll authority).

— charlotteobserver, "Charlotte’s District 4 City Council candidates give their views on 4 key issues," 23 Aug. 2017
One of Medina’s associates informed the FBI informant that Medina was planning to martyr himself in a firearms attack on the Aventura synagogue, using AK-47 assault rifles.

— jay weaver, miamiherald, "For synagogue terror plot, Florida man inspired by ISIS faces 25 years in prison," 16 Aug. 2017
As Laura Dern’s sardonic character informed Lynch’s Gordon Cole, Janey-E is actually her half sister—which would make Dougie Jones her (half) brother-in-law.

— laura bradley, HWD, "Twin Peaks: 6 Big Mysteries That Sunday’s Jam-Packed Episode Finally (Maybe) Solved," 14 Aug. 2017
A few days after that encounter, she was visited by a border official who informed her that the crew had a right to be on the land and would be returning — next time accompanied by armed Border Patrol agents.

— michael hardy, New York Times, "In South Texas, Threat of Border Wall Unites Naturalists and Politicians," 13 Aug. 2017
To stay informed of happenings at Carl Sandburg High School, head to http://sandburg.d230.org/ Orland Township hosted its Back to School Health Fair July 29, which assisted just over 400 people.

— laura hinderman, Daily Southtown, "Welcome back to back-to-school season," 8 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inform.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.