informer

Definition

A person who snitches to authorities, or more charitably, one who shares information. The human equivalent of a security camera, but messier and more expensive.

Example Usage

The informer tipped off the police about the illegal gambling ring operating out of the warehouse.

Source: Merriam-Webster via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Beginner

summon

To issue an official legal order requiring someone's presence in court or to appear before an authority. It's an invitation you legally cannot decline without facing contempt charges.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

Tort Reform

Proposed legislative changes to limit liability, reduce damages, or restrict lawsuits—essentially, business interests trying to make it harder to sue them.

⚖️ Legal

Advanced

collateral estoppel

The doctrine preventing parties from re-arguing facts that have already been decided in a previous case. It's like judicial recycling—why waste time re-proving something everyone already settled?

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

disclosure

The act of revealing previously confidential information, whether legally required or strategically chosen. In corporate and legal contexts, disclosure rules govern what must be shared with investors, regulators, or opposing counsel. It's transparency, but only after lawyers have thoroughly reviewed what transparency actually means.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

defamation

The legal term for trashing someone's reputation through lies, whether spoken (slander) or written (libel). It's when you say false things that damage someone's good name, and they can prove it hurt them in court. Think of it as gossip with consequences—where "allegedly" becomes your best friend and truth is an absolute defense.

⚖️ Legal

Beginner

suspect

A person believed to have committed a crime, based on evidence or accusation, but not yet proven guilty. The legal system's way of saying 'we think it was you' without formally saying 'we know it was you.'

⚖️ Legal

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