# information

Pronunciation: US say "in-fur-MAY-shuhn" /ˌɪn.fɚˈmeɪ.ʃn̩/; UK say "in-fuh-MAY-shuhn" /ˌɪn.fəˈmeɪ.ʃn̩/

## Noun

1. Facts and knowledge about a topic that can be communicated to others.
   - Simple: Facts and knowledge that people can learn and share about a subject.
   - _The report contains detailed information on regional rainfall._
   - _Reporters work hard to verify the information they gather._
2. Data that has been processed, organized or interpreted so that it has meaning and can be used, as opposed to raw data.
   - Simple: Facts or figures that have been sorted and made sense of, so people can use them.
   - _The analysts processed the survey data into information the board could use._
   - _Once cleaned and sorted, the readings yielded real information about traffic patterns._
3. A desk, office, or counter that answers the public's questions and offers help, for example at a station or for tourists.
   - Simple: A desk or office where people can ask questions and get help, for example at a train station or for visitors.
   - _Ask at information whether the museum offers guided tours in Spanish._
   - _Lost bags at this airport are handed in to information on the ground floor._
4. In computing and information theory, a measurable quantity carried by a sequence of symbols or signals, which reduces uncertainty and is counted in bits.
   - Simple: In computing, what a message or signal carries, measured in bits, that tells you something you did not know.
   - _Engineers measure information in bits, bytes, and larger units._
   - _Lossless compression stores the same information in fewer bits, which is why zipped files take up less space._
5. The act of informing someone or passing on knowledge; notification.
   - Simple: The act of telling someone something or sharing news with them.
   - _The sign was posted for the information of visitors entering the park._
   - _He attached a short summary for the information of the committee._
6. A telephone service that provides the listed phone numbers of subscribers on request. *(US)*
   - Simple: A phone service that gives you listed phone numbers when you ask.
   - _Before smartphones, people dialed information to track down a business number._
   - _He called information for the hotel's number, but the operator could not find it._
7. Anything that resolves uncertainty by answering what a given thing actually is.
   - Simple: Anything that removes doubt by telling you what something really is.
   - _Until the lab results came back, we had no information about whether the mushroom was a safe variety or its poisonous look-alike._
   - _The shape of the teeth was the key information, revealing that the fossil came from a plant-eater rather than a predator._
8. A formal statement of criminal activity brought before a judge or magistrate to begin a prosecution.
   - Simple: A formal statement to a judge that says someone may have broken the law.
   - _The prosecutor filed an information charging the defendant with fraud._
   - _Instead of seeking a grand jury indictment, the prosecutor filed an information charging him with burglary._

## Noun

9. Inspiration believed to come directly from God; divine inspiration. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Guidance or ideas believed to come straight from God.
10. Instruction given in an organized way; education or training. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The steady teaching of knowledge, such as education or training.
11. An accusation, or the act of reporting someone by passing on evidence that incriminates them. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The act of telling the authorities about someone's wrongdoing, or an accusation against them.
12. The shaping or animating of something, or the act of giving it form or a particular quality. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The giving of shape or a special quality to something, also called forming.

## Origin

From Middle English informacioun, borrowed through Anglo-Norman and Old French information, from Latin īnfōrmātiō ("formation, conception; education"), built on the verb īnformāre ("to inform"). It is equivalent to inform + -ation.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/information (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).