whistleblowers

noun

variants or whistle-blowers
plural of whistleblower
as in informants
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing there are laws to protect whistle-blowers who reveal corporate malfeasance

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whistleblowers Another bill, Menin said, would pay whistleblowers a significant amount of penalties. — Ian Thomas,colleen McKown, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026 The second cinematic wrench is NAZA, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s documentary hit involving two dozen IDF whistleblowers revealing how Netanyahu’s government has conducted the war in Gaza. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2026 But multiple complaints from residents and whistleblowers have also been made in the years since the derailment. — ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026 Others resisted and even formed a sub-colony of whistleblowers trying to out the cheaters. — Noah Giansiracusa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026 Other for-profit colleges have paid out multimillion-dollar settlements to resolve suits under the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to sue for fraud against the government and to claim a share of the payout. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026 Legal gray areas also heighten concerns for the protection of whistleblowers, activists, journalists, researchers and others who could be targeted by governments known to restrict civil and political rights. — Mary Lind, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026 Some whistleblowers can already receive compensation from the False Claims Act, which allows some whistleblowers to be entitled to up to 25% to 30% of proceeds recovered. — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026 But according to one of the whistleblowers who helped expose Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes hasn’t stopped trying to control the narrative. — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whistleblowers
  1. informants
  2. informers
  3. canaries
Noun
  • Overton, however, claimed that both informants were lying — and that the semen found on the comforter was planted on the scene by a spurned ex-lover with connections to the police department.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Cseh, the archive's director, said successor governments to dictatorships rarely disclose the names of previous agents and informants, let alone records as detailed as those Hungary is preparing to release.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of informants
Noun
  • One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.
    — Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026
  • And so every regime invests in having student informers.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of informers
Noun
  • Astronauts bring them on journeys to keep an eye on whether or not the water filtration systems are working, much the way miners used to take canaries down to the coal mines to check for poisonous gas leaks.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
  • She’s made room for dozens of pets over the years, ranging from fluffy Chow Chows and Frenchies (her favorite breeds) to canaries, chinchillas, and beautifully fluffy cats.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of canaries

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Cite this Entry

“Whistleblowers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whistleblowers. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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