informer
/ɪnˈfɔːmə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈfɔːrmər/ (ame, ipa) · /in-ˈfȯr-mər/ (ame, mw)
informer — 名詞
- informersingular
- informersplural
1. someone who quietly passes facts about other people's wrongdoing to law-enforcem
線民；告密者
暗中向警方或當局通報他人不法行為的人
someone who quietly passes facts about other people's wrongdoing to law-enforcement officers or a similar official body, usually for money or to keep themselves out of trouble
The detective met her informer at a quiet café near the train station every Tuesday.
那位刑警每週二都在火車站附近一家安靜的咖啡店與他的線民碰面。
common collocation: meet an informer
Otis was paid a monthly sum to act as a police informer inside the gang.
Otis 每月收取一筆小額報酬，在幫派內部充當警方線民。
fixed phrase: police informer
Tax officers rely on informers to report neighbours who run cash-only businesses.
稅務人員仰賴線民舉報那些只收現金做生意的鄰居。
After Karim was jailed, the gang spent months hunting the informer who had betrayed them.
Karim 入獄之後，幫派花了好幾個月想找出當初出賣他們的告密者。
Élise refused to become an informer for the secret police, despite threats to her family.
儘管家人遭受威脅，Élise 仍拒絕為祕密警察當線民。
- informant
more neutral; often used in formal police or research contexts without the negative tone
- snitch
very informal and strongly negative; typically used by criminals about other criminals
- tipster
lighter, often about racing or betting tips; not always about crime
- whistleblower
positive tone; someone who exposes wrongdoing inside an organisation for the public good, not for money
文法句型
informer for [authority]
police informer
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person inside a criminal group, workplace, or community who reports privately to outside authorities; the word carries a negative tone of disloyalty.