information

[ in-fer-mey-shuhn ]

/ ˌɪn fərˈmeɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR information ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news: information concerning a crime.

knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, etc.; factual data: His wealth of general information is amazing.

the act or fact of informing.

an office, station, service, or employee whose function is to provide information to the public: The ticket seller said to ask information for a timetable.

Directory Assistance.

Law.

an official criminal charge presented, usually by the prosecuting officers of the state, without the interposition of a grand jury.
a criminal charge, made by a public official under oath before a magistrate, of an offense punishable summarily.
the document containing the depositions of witnesses against one accused of a crime.

(in information theory) an indication of the number of possible choices of messages, expressible as the value of some monotonic function of the number of choices, usually the logarithm to the base 2.

Computers.

important or useful facts obtained as output from a computer by means of processing input data with a program: Using the input data, we have come up with some significant new information.
data at any stage of processing (input, output, storage, transmission, etc.).

Nearby words

informal vote, informality, informally, informant, informatics, information, information age, information architecture, information economy, information overload, information processing

Origin of information

1350–1400; Middle English: instruction, teaching, a forming of the mind < Medieval Latin, Latin: idea, conception. See inform¹, -ation

SYNONYMS FOR information

1 data, facts, intelligence, advice.

2 Information, knowledge, wisdom are terms for human acquirements through reading, study, and practical experience. Information applies to facts told, read, or communicated that may be unorganized and even unrelated: to pick up useful information. Knowledge is an organized body of information, or the comprehension and understanding consequent on having acquired and organized a body of facts: a knowledge of chemistry. Wisdom is a knowledge of people, life, and conduct, with the facts so thoroughly assimilated as to have produced sagacity, judgment, and insight: to use wisdom in handling people.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR information ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsin·for·ma·tion·al, adjectivenon·in·for·ma·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for information

Like many trans users, Transartist often gets used as a source of information more than anything else.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The FBI has also been searching its records for any information that could assist the French investigation, a spokesperson added.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The United States government might not release that information for years, if ever.
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?|Shane Harris|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Ironically, the play deals with the ‘management’ of information by the Establishment.
Harry’s Daddy, and Diana’s ‘Murder’: Royal Rumors In a New Play|Tom Sykes|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Brazen cherry-picking of the information in this story inspired a flood of “Bush Was Right All Along!”
Political Memes That Absolutely Must Die in 2015|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The audit office should have information at hand sufficient to decline the claim or settle it immediately.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford
It is for the information of such as these that this chapter is mainly intended, not for scientists or miners of large experience.
Getting Gold|J. C. F. Johnson
All of which information, useful in a way, no doubt, was accepted by Jack with a smile.
The Golf Course Mystery|Chester K. Steele
In short, he accumulated all the information he could by which the cost of logging might be estimated.
The Blazed Trail|Stewart Edward White
Not a word of information was wrung from them, no murmur of complaint crossed their lips.
The Petticoat Commando|Johanna Brandt

British Dictionary definitions for information

information

/ (ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃən) /

noun

knowledge acquired through experience or study

knowledge of specific and timely events or situations; news

the act of informing or the condition of being informed

an office, agency, etc, providing information
(as modifier)information service

a charge or complaint made before justices of the peace, usually on oath, to institute summary criminal proceedings
a complaint filed on behalf of the Crown, usually by the attorney general

computing

the meaning given to data by the way in which it is interpreted
another word for data (def. 2)

too much information informal I don't want to hear any more

Derived Formsinformational, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for information

information

late 14c., "act of informing," from Old French informacion, enformacion "information, advice, instruction," from Latin informationem (nominative informatio) "outline, concept, idea," noun of action from past participle stem of informare (see inform). Meaning "knowledge communicated" is from mid-15c. Information technology attested from 1958. Information revolution from 1969.

Idioms and Phrases with information

information

see under gold mine.

information

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of information

Examples from the Web for information

British Dictionary definitions for information

information

noun

Word Origin and History for information

information

Idioms and Phrases with information

information