variants
or whistle-blowers
as in informants
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
there are laws to protect whistle-blowers who reveal corporate malfeasance
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of whistleblowers
Federal law allows whistleblowers in the intelligence services to refer their complaints to the Gang of Eight lawmakers even if they have been found noncredible, as long as their complaint is determined to raise urgent concerns.
—
David Klepper The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
That would be a change from the past, when an independent office known as the Office of the Special Counsel was charged with protecting whistleblowers from reprisal.
—Courtney Rozen, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
At a press conference on the findings Wednesday, Attorney General Marty Jackley said the unit was born of legislation passed last year meant to tighten protections for whistleblowers and address the crush of state employee misconduct allegations that preceded the 2025 legislative session.
—John Hult, States Newsroom, 5 Feb. 2026
The lawsuit filed in San Francisco says internal WhatsApp engineers — deemed whistleblowers — allege that the platform’s internal team can request access to user content to conduct their tasks, bypassing encryption.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
The memo was presented to Congress by whistleblowers who said this directive goes against not only the law but standard training.
—Charlie De Mar, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
One of the two whistleblowers was allowed to view the memo only in the presence of a supervisor and then had to give it back.
—Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
One of the two whistleblowers was allowed to view the memo only in the presence of a supervisor and then had to give it back.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
These brave whistleblowers spent seven years and countless hours collaborating with us, recording, investigating, and covertly transmitting files to investigate crimes perpetrated by corrections officers tasked with protecting, not harming, the men in their care.
—Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman, IndieWire, 15 Jan. 2026
David Klepper The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
That would be a change from the past, when an independent office known as the Office of the Special Counsel was charged with protecting whistleblowers from reprisal.
—Courtney Rozen, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
At a press conference on the findings Wednesday, Attorney General Marty Jackley said the unit was born of legislation passed last year meant to tighten protections for whistleblowers and address the crush of state employee misconduct allegations that preceded the 2025 legislative session.
—John Hult, States Newsroom, 5 Feb. 2026
The lawsuit filed in San Francisco says internal WhatsApp engineers — deemed whistleblowers — allege that the platform’s internal team can request access to user content to conduct their tasks, bypassing encryption.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
The memo was presented to Congress by whistleblowers who said this directive goes against not only the law but standard training.
—Charlie De Mar, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
One of the two whistleblowers was allowed to view the memo only in the presence of a supervisor and then had to give it back.
—Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
One of the two whistleblowers was allowed to view the memo only in the presence of a supervisor and then had to give it back.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
These brave whistleblowers spent seven years and countless hours collaborating with us, recording, investigating, and covertly transmitting files to investigate crimes perpetrated by corrections officers tasked with protecting, not harming, the men in their care.
—Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman, IndieWire, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whistleblowers
Noun
-
White newspaper editors were routinely imprisoned or forced to become police informants.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But the conviction was overturned and a new trial was ordered because prosecutors failed to disclose evidence that a group of jailhouse informants was illegally used to garner incriminating statements by Smith.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
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Security services also rely on informers to tell them who might be using Starlink, and search internet and social media traffic for signs it has been used.—
David Rising,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
By crunching data from millions of monthly payroll records for workers in jobs with exposure to generative AI, the authors concluded that workers ages 22 to 25—the canaries—have seen about a 13 percent decline in employment since late 2022.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
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There are no canaries there either.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whistleblowers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whistleblowers. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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