as in informers
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
the FBI is working closely with informants to find out about the subversive group
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Recent Examples of informants
Quilty’s arrest comes after former New Haven police Chief Karl Jacobson was arrested by state police in February and accused of embezzling funds from an account police use to pay confidential informants in narcotics investigations.
—
Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 14 Apr. 2026
Documents also revealed that some of the witnesses were FBI informants—information kept from New York police.
—Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Apr. 2026
For months, the couple worked with the FBI as informants, with Katas even staging a raid by arranging a meeting with Bateman under the guise of filming.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
Shiwa Hassanpour, an activist with the human rights monitor Hengaw Organization, based in Iraq’s Kurdish region, said people have been shot for approaching the border, because Iranian forces suspect them of being spies or informants.
—ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
The Weathermen and Panthers held meetings together and exchanged intel about government surveillance and police informants.
—Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
The informants don't trust the police.
—Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 21 Mar. 2026
Under constant surveillance from informants and prying neighbors, the pair must conceal their enduring love while navigating a society on the brink of collapse, and the promise of newfound freedom.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Hicks sold crack cocaine and heroin twice to undercover informants in Hammond in August 2023.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 14 Apr. 2026
Documents also revealed that some of the witnesses were FBI informants—information kept from New York police.
—Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Apr. 2026
For months, the couple worked with the FBI as informants, with Katas even staging a raid by arranging a meeting with Bateman under the guise of filming.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
Shiwa Hassanpour, an activist with the human rights monitor Hengaw Organization, based in Iraq’s Kurdish region, said people have been shot for approaching the border, because Iranian forces suspect them of being spies or informants.
—ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
The Weathermen and Panthers held meetings together and exchanged intel about government surveillance and police informants.
—Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
The informants don't trust the police.
—Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 21 Mar. 2026
Under constant surveillance from informants and prying neighbors, the pair must conceal their enduring love while navigating a society on the brink of collapse, and the promise of newfound freedom.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Hicks sold crack cocaine and heroin twice to undercover informants in Hammond in August 2023.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for informants
informers
Noun
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
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Security services also rely on informers to tell them who might be using Starlink, and search internet and social media traffic for signs it has been used.—
David Rising,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Informants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/informants. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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