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
Jacobsen, who was appointed chief in 2022, is suspected of stealing money from a department fund that was created to pay confidential informants.
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Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
In a separate court filing submitted Monday, Cole’s attorneys also demanded broad discovery, including all statements attributed to him, investigative notes, information about the FBI’s use of informants to identify Cole as a suspect, and any exculpatory material.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 29 Dec. 2025
Record-keeping processes have been improved on the use of informants to, among other things, make sure defense attorneys get the proper discovery.
—Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 24 Dec. 2025
The letter asks for an accounting of how many MS-13 gang members were sent to El Salvador under the arrangement, including whether any other informants were sent back to the Central American country beyond the nine already reported.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 23 Dec. 2025
His administration also returned key MS-13 drug gang informants to El Salvador.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 15 Dec. 2025
Like all the best cop dramas, there’s corruption on all sides, with gangsters-turned-informants and cops on the take, but the Northern Irish setting gives Blue Lights a particular edge.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2025
Rich with informants across the Paris underworld, BRB detectives could tap their networks for immediate theories (and maybe a name or two) in the Louvre case.
—John Miller, CNN Money, 19 Nov. 2025
According to court documents, the FBI has been investigating the Washington and New Jersey defendants since 2023, monitoring their conversations with the help of undercover FBI informants and agents.
—John Wisely, Freep.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
In a separate court filing submitted Monday, Cole’s attorneys also demanded broad discovery, including all statements attributed to him, investigative notes, information about the FBI’s use of informants to identify Cole as a suspect, and any exculpatory material.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 29 Dec. 2025
Record-keeping processes have been improved on the use of informants to, among other things, make sure defense attorneys get the proper discovery.
—Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 24 Dec. 2025
The letter asks for an accounting of how many MS-13 gang members were sent to El Salvador under the arrangement, including whether any other informants were sent back to the Central American country beyond the nine already reported.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 23 Dec. 2025
His administration also returned key MS-13 drug gang informants to El Salvador.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 15 Dec. 2025
Like all the best cop dramas, there’s corruption on all sides, with gangsters-turned-informants and cops on the take, but the Northern Irish setting gives Blue Lights a particular edge.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2025
Rich with informants across the Paris underworld, BRB detectives could tap their networks for immediate theories (and maybe a name or two) in the Louvre case.
—John Miller, CNN Money, 19 Nov. 2025
According to court documents, the FBI has been investigating the Washington and New Jersey defendants since 2023, monitoring their conversations with the help of undercover FBI informants and agents.
—John Wisely, Freep.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Informants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/informants. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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