informant
A person who secretly tells the police information.
A person who gives information to the police or other authorities, often secretly, especially about criminal activity.
A person who gives information to a researcher for a study.
A person who provides information to a researcher, especially in anthropology, sociology, or linguistics, often based on personal knowledge of a community, culture, or language.
A person who gives information to others.
A person who supplies information to someone else; a source of information.
- Base: informant
- Plural: informants
anonymous informant
1informant who stays unnamed
A person who gives information but does not give their name.
- The search began after a tip from an anonymous informant.
- Officials said they could not verify the anonymous informant’s claims.
- An anonymous informant called the police.
confidential informant
1informant whose identity is protected
A police informant whose name is kept secret.
- A confidential informant arranged the meeting with the suspect.
- The judge reviewed the confidential informant’s statement in private.
- The police used a confidential informant.
government informant
1informant who reports to authorities
A person who secretly gives information to the government.
- The report claimed there was a government informant in the organization.
- Several activists said they felt they were being watched by government informants.
jailhouse informant
1prison inmate who provides testimony
A prisoner who tells the police information about another prisoner.
- The conviction relied heavily on a jailhouse informant’s testimony.
- The judge warned the jury to treat the jailhouse informant with caution.
paid informant
1informant who is paid for information
An informant who gets money for information.
- Defense lawyers attacked the credibility of the paid informant.
- The agency admitted it had used a paid informant in the operation.
- The paid informant gave a description.
police informant
1informant who works with police
A person who gives the police secret information.
- He was revealed as a police informant during the trial.
- The gang suspected there was a police informant inside their group.
- She was a police informant.