as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
a canary who was singing and giving up the names of some of the city's most notorious drug lords
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of canary
The insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis.
—
Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Your cat, chickens, or canary could get into trouble or run out of food and water.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
Reed canary grass, sometimes called ribbon grass (Phalaris arundinacea), is a tall green perennial that grows vigorously in a variety of soils and conditions—in some case, too vigorously.
—Miranda Crowell, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2025
Charlie Sway, the fund manager, was an old prep-school friend, who knew that Jaron had an eye for the sleeping dog, an ear for the silent canary.
—Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Your cat, chickens, or canary could get into trouble or run out of food and water.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
Reed canary grass, sometimes called ribbon grass (Phalaris arundinacea), is a tall green perennial that grows vigorously in a variety of soils and conditions—in some case, too vigorously.
—Miranda Crowell, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2025
Charlie Sway, the fund manager, was an old prep-school friend, who knew that Jaron had an eye for the sleeping dog, an ear for the silent canary.
—Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canary
Noun
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Supporting characters also left their mark, most notably Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear, the streetwise informant who balanced comic relief with genuine charm.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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In 1985, Tortora was accused by several alleged ex-mobsters turned informants and state witnesses of being part of a Neapolitan crime syndicate dedicated to drug trafficking.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Frizer and Skeres were fraudsters, and the sinister Poley was an informer, crucial to the exposure of the Babington Plot.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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Option 2: If one prisoner informs while the other stays silent, the informer will go free while the silent one receives the harshest sentence.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
Noun
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Research performed on rats found that when TPO was ingested, reproductive difficulties and negative effects on the endocrine (hormonal) systems followed.—
Morgan Fargo,
Vogue,
10 Sep. 2025
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Inspectors shut down the Thai restaurant in Rancho Cordova aftering finding approximately 50 rat droppings below the water heater in the back of the kitchen and about 15 to 25 droppings throughout the corners of the cook’s line, the front counter in the lobby and the back of dry storage area.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canary. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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