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Definitions of inform

inform1 (ɪnˈfɔːm ) 

Definitions

verb

  1. (transitive; often followed by of or about) to give information to; tell
  2. (transitive; often followed by of or about) to make conversant (with)
  3. (intransitive; often followed 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. (transitive) to animate or inspire
  7. (transitive) (obsolete)
    1. to train or educate
    2. to report

Derived Forms

inˈformable  adjective
informedly (ɪnˈfɔːmɪdlɪ )   adverb
inˈformingly  adverb

Word Origin

C14: from Latin informāre to give form to, describe, from formāre to form

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= tell, advise, let someone know, notify, brief, instruct, edify, enlighten, acquaint, leak to, communicate to, fill someone in, keep someone posted, apprise, clue someone in (informal), put someone in the picture (informal), tip someone off, send word to, give someone to understand, make someone conversant (with)
= infuse, characterize, permeate, animate, saturate, typify, imbue, suffuse

Quotations including 'inform'

  • "Never tell tales out of school"

inform2 (ɪnˈfɔːm ) 

Definitions

adjective

  1. (archaic) without shape; unformed

Word Origin

C16: from Latin informis from in-1 + forma shape

Translations for 'inform'

  • British English: inform If you inform someone of something, you tell them about it.They informed him of any progress they had made.ɪnˈfɔːm VERB
  • Arabic: يُبْلِغُ عَنْ
  • Brazilian Portuguese: informar
  • Chinese: 告知
  • Croatian: obavijestiti
  • Czech: informovat
  • Danish: informere
  • Dutch: informeren
  • European Spanish: informar
  • Finnish: tiedottaa
  • French: informer
  • German: informieren
  • Greek: πληροφορώ
  • Italian: informare
  • Japanese: 知らせる
  • Korean: 알리다
  • Norwegian: informere
  • Polish: poinformować informować
  • Portuguese: informar
  • Romanian: a informa
  • Russian: сообщать
  • Spanish: informar
  • Swedish: upplysa
  • Thai: แจ้งให้ทราบ
  • Turkish: bilgi vermek
  • Ukrainian: повідомляти повідомити
  • Vietnamese: thông báo

Example Sentences Including 'inform'

Just remember to inform those concerned to stay away from the flat.
Thomas, Craig The Last Raven
During one of our major rows, she had threatened to inform London that she could no longer take responsibility for working with me.
Hilton, John Buxton Moondrop to Murder
I cannot comment on why he did not inform you about the change, nor indeed can I explain why he did not ask you to make the change yourself.
Matthews, Lew A Conviction of Guilt

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