inform
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
informs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
informed,
past participle, past
-
informing
present participle
-
to give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance to.
He informed them of his arrival.
-
to supply (oneself) with knowledge of a matter or subject.
She informed herself of all the pertinent facts.
- Synonyms:
- acquaint
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to give evident substance, character, or distinction to; pervade or permeate with manifest effect.
A love of nature informed his writing.
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to animate or inspire.
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Obsolete.
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to train or instruct.
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to make known; disclose.
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to give or impart form to.
-
verb (used without object)
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informs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
informed,
past participle, past
-
informing
present participle
verb phrase
adjective
verb
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(tr; often foll by of or about) to give information to; tell
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(tr; often foll by of or about) to make conversant (with)
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(intr; often foll by against or on) to give information regarding criminals, as to the police, etc
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to give form to
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to impart some essential or formative characteristic to
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(tr) to animate or inspire
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obsolete (tr)
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to train or educate
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to report
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adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-informingadjective
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informableadjective
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uninformingadjective
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half-informinglyadverb
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informedlyadverb
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informinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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informsimple
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informssimple
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have informedperfect
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has informedperfect
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am informingprogressive
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are informingprogressive
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is informingprogressive
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have been informingperfect progressive
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has been informingperfect progressive
Past
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informedsimple
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had informedperfect
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was informingprogressive
-
were informingprogressive
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had been informingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
To inform is to tell someone news, pass on wisdom, leak gossip, or give instruction. You've been informed that you won the raffle at the county fair. What are you going to do with all that cheese? The Latin verb infōrmāre means "to form or shape." The idea of passing on knowledge came about in the 14th Century, with the meaning of "teaching or instructing" coming later. Thomas Jefferson, who believed democracy to be impossible without informed citizens, said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”
Vocabulary lists containing inform
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Shape Up: Form
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In February, Walters called Bradley Beesley, the creator of Mudcats, to inform him of the Roebucks’ offer.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The reader has no background to inform what is happening, only the knowledge of how things will change in the future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
If it is your parents' car and you are now the main driver, you have to inform the insurer.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Among the men surveyed, 76% supported requiring warning labels on dairy products to inform consumers about prostate cancer risk.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
“That’s Arlo’s gift. I went the old-fashioned route—cash,” I inform her.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Elise informs Gemma that she has a special gift for making contact with those in the Further — and, even rarer, the ability to bring those spirits back into our world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
It informs why he thinks he survived being shot five times point-blank: “I believe god saved me,” he said.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Despite the conditions, Painter informs us that Hodgkinson, perhaps motivated by that unexpected defeat, has outperformed all expectations.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
This observation informs her compelling geopolitical picaresque through a collection of disputed and disordered territories across Europe and Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
“It’s a couple minutes after four,” Rufus informs me.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
According to Earl Spencer, Charles informed him he had told Princes William and Harry of their mother's death first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
After an OpenAI researcher informed Brockman about a hack to get around the New York Times paywall when scraping content, Brockman responded, “ah nice,” according to the filing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Jurors were also informed that Walters’ partial fingerprint was found on the white Spencer’s bag holding the cache of stolen firearms that Oxford turned over to police.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Under the current policy, if any student “requests a change to their official or unofficial records, parents/guardians shall be notified to ensure that parents/guardians are informed and involved in all aspects of their child’s education.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
“All of the eggs broke,” he informed us, holding out the remains.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
For the next two hours, anchors and reporters covered the story while informing viewers of a grim fact: The station had lost contact with its Chopper 4 crew.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The targets are groups that send mailers to public employees informing them of their rights, under the Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The findings suggest that studying the genetics of personality could have implications well beyond psychology, potentially informing research in medicine, health, education and the workplace.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
Instead, we cut to rehearsals for the comeback tour, with a caption informing us the brothers "didn't speak for 15 years", and an implication that all the wounds have been miraculously healed.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
As soon as my log-in sequence completed, a window popped up on my display, informing me that today was an election day.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
