inform

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Informed p. pr. & vb. n. Informing. ] [ OE. enformen, OF. enformer, F. informer. L. informare; pref. in- in + formare to form, share, fr. forma form. See Form. ] 1. To give form or share to; to give vital or organizing power to; to give life to; to imbue and actuate with vitality; to animate; to mold; to figure; to fashion. “The informing Word.” Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let others better mold the running mass
Of metals, and inform the breathing brass. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Breath informs this fleeting frame. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To communicate knowledge to; to make known to; to acquaint; to advise; to instruct; to tell; to notify; to enlighten; -- usually followed by of. [ 1913 Webster ]

For he would learn their business secretly,
And then inform his master hastily. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am informed thoroughly of the cause. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To communicate a knowledge of facts to, by way of accusation; to warn against anybody. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tertullus . . . informed the governor against Paul. Acts xxiv. 1.

Syn. -- To acquaint; apprise; tell; teach; instruct; enlighten; animate; fashion. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To take form; to become visible or manifest; to appear. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To give intelligence or information; to tell. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He might either teach in the same manner, or inform how he had been taught. Monthly Rev. [ 1913 Webster ]

To inform against, to communicate facts by way of accusation against; to denounce; as, two persons came to the magistrate, and informed against A. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. in- not + formal. ] 1. Not in the regular, usual, or established form; not according to official, conventional, prescribed, or customary forms or rules; irregular; hence, without ceremony; as, an informal writing, proceeding, or visit. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Deranged in mind; out of one's senses. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

These poor informal women. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Informalities 1. The state of being informal; lack of regular, prescribed, or customary form; as, the informality of legal proceedings. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An informal, unconventional, or unofficial act or proceeding; something which is not in proper or prescribed form or does not conform to the established rule. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an informal manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. informans, -antis, p. pr. of informare. See Inform, v. t. ] 1. One who, or that which, informs, animates, or vivifies. [ Obs. ] Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who imparts information or instruction. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who offers an accusation; an informer. See Informer. [ Obs. or R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It was the last evidence of the kind; the informant
was hanged. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. informatio representation, conception. See Inform, v. t. ] 1. The act of informing, or communicating knowledge or intelligence. [ 1913 Webster ]

The active informations of the intellect. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any fact or set of facts, knowledge, news, or advice, whether communicated by others or obtained by personal study and investigation; any datum that reduces uncertainty about the state of any part of the world; intelligence; knowledge derived from reading, observation, or instruction. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Larger opportunities of information. Rogers. [ 1913 Webster ]

He should get some information in the subject he intends to handle. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) A proceeding in the nature of a prosecution for some offense against the government, instituted and prosecuted, really or nominally, by some authorized public officer on behalf of the government. It differs from an indictment in criminal cases chiefly in not being based on the finding of a grand jury. See Indictment. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Information Theory) A measure of the number of possible choices of messages contained in a symbol, signal, transmitted message, or other information-bearing object; it is usually quantified as the negative logarithm of the number of allowed symbols that could be contained in the message; for logarithms to the base 2, the measure corresponds to the unit of information, the hartley, which is log₂10, or 3.323 bits; called also information content. The smallest unit of information that can be contained or transmitted is the bit, corresponding to a yes-or-no decision. [ PJC ]

5. (Computers) Useful facts, as contrasted with raw data; as, among all this data, there must be some interesting information. [ PJC ]

n. information{ 4 }. [ PJC ]