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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

inform.

To instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɪnˈfɔɹm/General-American/ɪnˈfɔːm/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).

    archaic · transitive
  2. To communicate knowledge to.

    transitive
  3. To impart information or knowledge.

    intransitive
  4. To act as an informer; denounce.

  5. To give form or character to; to inspire (with a given quality); to affect, influence (with a pervading principle, idea etc.).

    transitive
    His sense of religion informs everything he writes.
  6. To make known, wisely and/or knowledgeably.

    intransitive · obsolete
  7. To direct, guide.

    formal · transitive
    Don’t forget the code of ethics that informs this profession.
  8. To take form; to become visible or manifest; to appear.

    archaic · intransitive
Where this word comes from

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.

adj/ɪnˈfɔɹm/General-American/ɪnˈfɔːm/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Without regular form; shapeless; ugly; deformed.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Latin īnfōrmis.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.