inform

¹ American  

[in-fawrm] / ɪnˈfɔrm /

verb (used with object)

1. to give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance to.

   He informed them of his arrival.

   Synonyms:

   tell, advise, notify, apprise

2. to supply (oneself) with knowledge of a matter or subject.

   She informed herself of all the pertinent facts.

   Synonyms:

   acquaint

3. to give evident substance, character, or distinction to; pervade or permeate with manifest effect.

   A love of nature informed his writing.

4. to animate or inspire.

5. Obsolete.

   1. to train or instruct.

   2. to make known; disclose.

   3. to give or impart form to.

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verb (used without object)

1. to give information; supply knowledge or enlightenment.

   a magazine that entertains more than it informs.

verb phrase

1. inform on to furnish incriminating evidence about (someone) to an authority, prosecuting officer, etc..

   He informed on his accomplices.

inform ² American  

[in-fawrm] / ɪnˈfɔrm /

adjective

Obsolete.

1. without form; formless.

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inform ¹ British  

/ ɪnˈfɔːm, ɪnˈfɔːmɪdlɪ /

verb

1. (tr; often foll by of or about) to give information to; tell

2. (tr; often foll by of or about) to make conversant (with)

3. (intr; often foll by against or on) to give information regarding criminals, as to the police, etc

4. to give form to

5. to impart some essential or formative characteristic to

6. (tr) to animate or inspire

7. obsolete (tr)

   1. to train or educate

   2. to report

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inform ² British  

/ ɪnˈfɔːm /

adjective

1. archaic without shape; unformed

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Other Word Forms

• half-informing adjective
• half-informingly adverb
• informable adjective
• informedly adverb
• informingly adverb
• uninforming adjective

Etymology

Origin of inform¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English enfo(u)rmen, informen, from Old French enfo(u)rmer, from Latin infōrmāre “to form, shape,” equivalent to in- in- ² + fōrmāre “to form ”

Origin of inform²

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin informis “formless, deformed,” equivalent to in- in- ³ + -formis -form

Example Sentences

Several others described receiving early morning emails informing them they were no longer employed and would receive one month of severance pay.

From BBC

But her voice—slightly nasal, with conversational phrasing and clipped inflections informed by hip-hop—is instantly identifiable, and conveys intelligence and intimacy while sounding perfectly natural in glittery electronic productions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some affected employees told The Wall Street Journal that they had received an early morning email from “Oracle Leadership” that thanked them for their work and informed them it was their last day.

From The Wall Street Journal

The idea would be to allow firms to perform a “proof of concept” for on-chain trading that could be used to inform a longer-term rule-making process down the road, Atkins said.

From Barron's

The data they got from the experiment informed the design of the Space Shuttle.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advise
• apprise
• brief
• caution
• educate
• instruct
• notify
• tell
• update
• warn