informant

/ɪnˈfɔːmənt/

//ɪnˈfɔːmənt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"informant" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“informant” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,858. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,858
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who relays confidential information to someone, especially to the police; an informer.

Corpus desk

Index EN-informant · informant · English

informant · rank #18,858 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,858
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inhabit

Nearest frequency peer: inhabit (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “informant”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “informant” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

informant vs informing
78% similar
informant vs informal
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for informant
PropertyValue
Headwordinformant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnˈfɔːmənt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#18,858
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “informant”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).informantlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “inhabit” (#18,859), “ICT” (#18,856), “intervening” (#18,860). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “informant” is #18,858. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around informant (IPA /ɪnˈfɔːmənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,858 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for informant, with forms such as "ifnormant", "infformant", and "infomrant". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "informing", "informal", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From inform + -ant. The correct English form is informant, spelled I-N-F-O-R-M-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who relays confidential information to someone, especially to the police; an informer.
  2. 2
    A native speaker who acts as a linguistic reference for a language being studied. The informant demonstrates native pronunciation, provides grammaticality judgments regarding linguistic well-formedness, and may also explain cultural references and other important contextual information.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how informant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. One of her chief informants is Alicent’s handmaiden Talya (Alexis Rabin), whose inside info runs so deep that she’s the first to catch wind of Viserys’ death.
  2. The only material the linguist has to begin with are the informant's grammatical utterances in the target language pronounced arbitrarily in a natural or assigned communicative situation or stimulated artificially by the investigator.

Etymology

From inform + -ant.

Synonyms

consultantabaddonaccuserbeeferbewrayerbigmouthblabberblabtaleblabtonguecanaryCIfingerfinkfizgiggossipgrassinformantinformerjuratleakmolenarcnarknonceouterpeacherquislingratratfinkroostersneaksnitchsnoutsquealerstate's evidencestoogestool pigeonstooliesupergrasssycophanttattlertattletaletelltale tittelltaletoutwhistleblower

This word in other languages

informante(Español)informateur(Français)Informant(Deutsch)delator(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ifnormant
  • infformant
  • infomrant
  • inforamnt
  • informannt
  • informantt
  • informatn
  • informmant
  • informnat
  • inforrmant
  • infromant
  • innformant
  • inofrmant
  • niformant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of informant - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ifnormant2infformant1infomrant2inforamnt2informannt1informantt1informatn2informmant1
Edit distance from "informant"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "informant"?
"informant" is spelled I-N-F-O-R-M-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈfɔːmənt/.
What does "informant" mean?
As a noun, "informant" means: One who relays confidential information to someone, especially to the police; an informer.
What words are commonly confused with "informant"?
"informant" is commonly confused with "informing", "informal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "informant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "informant" is /ɪnˈfɔːmənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "informant"?
From inform + -ant. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "informant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

intrusive#18,861heartless#18,850Josephine#18,868hairstyle#18,844

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

lunchtime14 variantsmalignant14 variantsexcursion14 variantsnegligent14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list