DictionaryAI

inform

in-FORM/ɪnˈfɔɹm/UKin-FAWM/ɪnˈfɔːm/

Formsinforms, informing, informed

9 meanings of inform

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To tell someone facts or news so they know about something.

    Like sending a text so a friend knows what is happening.

    Please inform your teacher if you start to feel sick.

    The doctor informed her about the test results that morning.

    Similartell, notify, advise, brief, update

    Note
  2. 2
    verbintransitive
    To give out facts or knowledge.

    A good newspaper informs without taking sides.

    The exhibit aims to inform as well as to delight.

    Similareducate, enlighten, instruct

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To shape what something is like by adding an idea or quality.

    Her childhood experiences inform the way she teaches today.

    Strong beliefs informed every choice he made.

    Similarshape, pervade, influence, guide, permeate

    Note
  4. 4
    verbintransitive
    To tell the police or people in charge about someone who broke the law.

    He agreed to inform on the gang in exchange for a lighter sentence.

    Someone in the group had informed against them.

    Similartell

    Note
  5. 5
    verbformaltransitive
    To guide or direct how something is done.

    Let the evidence inform your judgment before you decide.

    Tradition informed how the ceremony was conducted.

    Similarguide, direct, govern, shape

  6. 6
    adjective
    Having no clear shape, and so looking messy or ugly.

    Like a blob of dough before anyone shapes it.

    The clay sat in an inform lump on the table.

    Before the sculptor's work, the stone was rough and inform.

    Similarshapeless, formless, misshapen, amorphous

    Oppositeshapely

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 7
    verbarchaictransitive
    To teach or train someone in a subject.

    The tutor was hired to inform the young prince in Latin.

    Monks informed their pupils in both scripture and grammar.

    Note
  2. 8
    verbarchaicintransitive
    To take shape and become something you can see.

    Out of the mist, a tall shape began to inform.

    It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes.
    c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”Here, informs means takes shape and becomes visible to his eyes.
    Note
  3. 9
    verbobsoleteintransitive
    To share knowledge in a wise and skilled way.
    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of inform apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–5, 7–9

From Latin "informo" meaning "to shape, form, or teach," made from "in-" (into) and "forma" (form, shape). It came into English through Old French.

Meaning 6

From the Latin word "īnfōrmis."