tattler

noun

tat·​tler ˈta-tᵊl-ər 

ˈtat-lər

1

: tattletale

2

: any of various slender long-legged shorebirds (such as the willet, yellowlegs, and redshank) of the sandpiper family with a loud and frequent call

Synonyms

• betrayer
• canary [slang]
• deep throat
• fink
• informant
• informer
• nark [British]
• rat
• rat fink
• snitch
• snitcher
• squealer
• stool pigeon
• stoolie
• talebearer
• tattletale
• telltale
• whistle-blower

Examples of tattler in a Sentence

as the office's resident tattler, she can be counted on to report any unauthorized use of the photocopiers

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Word History

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

tattler

noun

tat·​tler ˈtat-lər 

-ᵊl-ər

: tattletale