whistleblower

IPA/ˈwɪs.əlˌbləʊ.ər/
KK[wˈɪsəlblˌoɚ]IPA/ˈwɪs.əlˌbloʊ.ɚ/

whistleblower — noun

  • whistleblowersingular
  • whistleblowersplural

1. an employee or member of an organisation who reports dishonest, illegal, or dang

1.名詞B2
釋義

an employee or member of an organisation who reports dishonest, illegal, or dangerous activities to an outside authority such as the police, the media, or a government agency, often at risk to their own career or personal safety

例句

Stephanie became a whistleblower after discovering her company was dumping toxic waste into a river.

became a whistleblower after discovering wrongdoing

Nora, a hospital nurse and whistleblower, proved that surgeons operated without proper training.

whistleblower + appositive role description + that-clause

同義詞
  • informant

    often implies secrecy or payment, lacks the public-interest motive of a whistleblower

  • leaker

    broader term — someone who releases confidential information, not necessarily about wrongdoing

  • tipster

    usually someone who gives a tip to police or journalists, not necessarily an insider

文法句型

whistleblower + from [organisation]

whistleblower + to [authority]

用法筆記

Typically used in news reports about corporate, government, or institutional scandals. The person is almost always an insider — an employee or member — who takes the information to an outside authority. Frequently modified by adjectives such as anonymous, corporate, government, or internal.

常見錯誤

❌The police used a whistleblower to catch the drug dealer.
✅A whistleblower from the energy company reported the illegal dumping to environmental regulators.
💡A whistleblower reports wrongdoing within their own organisation, not a police informant in a criminal investigation.
❌He was called a whistleblower for telling his boss about a missing stapler.
✅She became a whistleblower when she reported the factory's safety violations to government inspectors.
💡Whistleblower is used for serious wrongdoing such as fraud, safety hazards, or corruption, not minor workplace issues.