as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
as the office's resident tattler, she can be counted on to report any unauthorized use of the photocopiers
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Recent Examples of tattler
Wandering tattlers, the ruddy turnstone and a variety of other summer migrants will be found on our local beaches.
—
Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2025
Tattling to the Bachelor doesn’t always go well for the tattler.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2025
Mortimer Zuckerman, the owner, hired him to replace a British editor who had turned it from a brash, tough-guy paper into a tattler of celebrity gossip and supermarket tabloid stunts.
—Robert D. McFadden, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2020
Being a tattler or someone who is too focused on the drama rarely works out, largely because those dudes are more focused on screen time than the lead.
—Martha Sorren, refinery29.com, 20 June 2019
There are social repercussions for kids who develop a reputation as tattlers: they get left out.
—K. Lori Hanson Ph.d., miamiherald, 8 Mar. 2018
Dwight and Eugene remain at an ideological impasse, but Eugene is too busy waffling between his morality and his desire to stay alive to actually pick a side—and for reasons unknown, Dwight hasn’t found a way to simply ax the potential tattler.
—Laura Bradley, HWD, 3 Dec. 2017
Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2025
Tattling to the Bachelor doesn’t always go well for the tattler.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2025
Mortimer Zuckerman, the owner, hired him to replace a British editor who had turned it from a brash, tough-guy paper into a tattler of celebrity gossip and supermarket tabloid stunts.
—Robert D. McFadden, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2020
Being a tattler or someone who is too focused on the drama rarely works out, largely because those dudes are more focused on screen time than the lead.
—Martha Sorren, refinery29.com, 20 June 2019
There are social repercussions for kids who develop a reputation as tattlers: they get left out.
—K. Lori Hanson Ph.d., miamiherald, 8 Mar. 2018
Dwight and Eugene remain at an ideological impasse, but Eugene is too busy waffling between his morality and his desire to stay alive to actually pick a side—and for reasons unknown, Dwight hasn’t found a way to simply ax the potential tattler.
—Laura Bradley, HWD, 3 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tattler
Noun
-
The Weathermen and Panthers held meetings together and exchanged intel about government surveillance and police informants.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The Miami Herald has previously reported that Pretel, who ran a company known as Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and helped recruit the Colombian commandos, was an FBI informant.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The whole family is deeply involved in the revolutionary movement: the oldest son disappears into Siberia, never to be seen or heard of again, while the youngest, eighteen, is jailed together with his father, and executed after his cell is exposed by an informer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
If the canary wouldn’t sing, if the milkman was late, if the Pekingese had fleas, if an old coot in a starched collar had a heart attack on the way to church, that was the smog.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The proverbial canaries in coal mines will then cause a recession.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
People who come forward are called narcs, tattletales and snitches.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Years later, their youngest daughter, Hannah Burch – now 24 and a mother herself – shared a viral TikTok video reflecting on the unique ways she and her siblings were raised — from rules around being a tattletale to monthly family yardwork and chore expectations.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For the past several years, rats in the Treasure Valley have been a pest in everything but Idaho code.—
Mark Dee
March 31,
Idaho Statesman,
31 Mar. 2026
-
For example, rats can be found in countless places that experience bitter winters.—
Jason Bittel,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Perez and Cohen learned of their friends’ death from a Herald reporter.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tattler.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tattler. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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