Word.ws English Dictionary

inform

UK/ɪnˈfɔːm//ɪnˈfɔɹm/

inform verb: to instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).

Verb

inform (third-person singular simple present informs, present participle informing, simple past and past participle informed)

  1. (archaic, transitive) To instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).
  2. (transitive) To communicate knowledge to.
    • For he would learn their business secretly, / And then inform his master hastily.1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC
    • I am informed thoroughly of the cause.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    Synonyms:
    acquaint
  3. (intransitive) To impart information or knowledge.
  4. To act as an informer; denounce.
    Synonyms:
    dob
  5. (transitive) To give form or character to; to inspire (with a given quality); to affect, influence (with a pervading principle, idea etc.).
    • His sense of religion informs everything he writes.
    • But others declare that no Creature can be made or tranſmuted into a better or vvorſe, or transformed into another ſpecies or ſimilitude, by man, or devill. […] Martinus [i.e., Martin] Delrio the Jeſuit accounts this degeneration of Man into a Beaſt to be an illuſion, deceptive and repugnant to...1653, John Bulwer, “Scene XXIIII. Cruell and Fantasticall Inventions of Men Practised upon Their Bodies in a Supposed Way of Bravery, and Wicked Practices both of Men and Devils to Alter and Deforme...
  6. (intransitive, obsolete) To make known, wisely and/or knowledgeably.
  7. (formal, transitive) To direct, guide.
    • Don’t forget the code of ethics that informs this profession.
  8. (archaic, intransitive) To take form; to become visible or manifest; to appear.
    • It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    Synonyms:
    materialize

Adjective

inform (not comparable)

  1. Without regular form; shapeless; ugly; deformed.
    • Bleak Crags, and naked Hills,
      And the whole Prospect so inform and rude1765, Charles Cotton, “Wonders of Peake”, in Poetical Works, page 342

inform meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

inform in Hindi

to communicate knowledge to another/others (transitive)
सूचित करना sūcit karnā, बताना batānā, ख़बर करना xabar karnā, जानकारी देना jānkārī denā, अवगत करना avgat karnā

inform in Tamil

தெரிவி, தெரியப்படுத்து, புலப்படுத்து

inform in Marathi

to inform, apprise
कळवणे kaḷavṇe

inform in Urdu

to communicate knowledge to another/others (transitive)
آگاہ کَرْنا āgāh karnā, اِطِّلاع کَرْنا ittilā' karnā, بَتانا batānā, خَبَر کَرْنا xabar karnā
More languagesFewer languages
inform in Bengali
জানানো jananō
inform in Malayalam
അറിയിക്കുക
inform in Kannada
ಅರುಹು, ತಿಳುಹು, ತಿಳಿಸು, ಹೇಳು
inform in Gujarati
જણાવવું jaṇāvvũ, બતાવવું batāvvũ
inform in Assamese
জনোৱা zonüa
inform in Pashto
خبر ورکول xabár warkawël, ابلاغول eblāǧawël, اترول atarawël
inform in Arabic
بَلَّغَ ballaḡa, أَبْلَغَ ʔablaḡa, أَخْبَرَ ʔaḵbara
inform in Malay
memberitahu, mengkhabarkan, maalumkan
inform in Indonesian
mempengaruhi
inform in Thai
แจ้ง jɛ̂ɛng, บอก bɔ̀ɔk
inform in Vietnamese
thông báo
inform in Myanmar
သတင်းပေး sa.tang:pe:, ကြား kra:, အသိပေး a.si.pe:

Examples of inform in a sentence

  • Let others better mould the running mass / Of metals, and inform the breathing brass1697, Virgil, “The Sixth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis....
  • O! long as breath informs this fleeting frame / Ne'er let me pass in silence Dorset's name1858, Matthew Prior, The poetical works of Matthew Prior, Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne and Company, page 120, line 401:
  • WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them.2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:

All 40 example sentences with inform

Synonyms of inform

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of inform

Forms of inform

third-person singular presentinforms
present participleinforming
past participleinformed
pastinformed
alternative formenform

Past tense of inform: informed

Origin of inform

From Middle English informen, enformen, borrowed from Old French enformer, informer (“to train, instruct, inform”), from Latin īnfōrmō (“to shape, form, train, instruct, educate”), from in- (“into”) + fōrma (“form, shape”), equivalent to in- + form.

From Latin īnfōrmis.

Words formed from inform

Words that rhyme with inform

9 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about inform

What does inform mean?
Inform means to instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).
What is inform in Hindi?
Inform in Hindi is सूचित करना (sūcit karnā), बताना (batānā), ख़बर करना (xabar karnā). See Inform meaning in Hindi.
How do you use inform in a sentence?
Let others better mould the running mass / Of metals, and inform the breathing brass
What part of speech is inform?
Inform can be a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce inform?
Inform is pronounced /ɪnˈfɔɹm/ (US).
What is the past tense of inform?
The past tense of inform is informed.

Words near inform in the dictionary

  1. inforces
  2. inforceth
  3. inforcing
  4. inforg
  5. inforgs
  6. inform
  7. inform on
  8. inform'd
  9. informal
  10. informal fallacies
  11. informal fallacy

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: inform (page history and authors); inform (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); कळवणे (Marathi) (page history and authors); জানানো (Bengali) (page history and authors); inform (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inform (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); જણાવવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); জনোৱা (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-inform.ogg.

Cite this entry: “inform.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inform. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.