1
as in gossiper
a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others statehouse talebearers had long spread stories about the governor's extramarital affairs

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2
as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing the teacher told him not to be such a talebearer, as she was quite capable of detecting student misbehavior on her own

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for talebearer
Noun
  • The witness was in fact facing 30 years in another murder case and went on record as an informant for police to take years off.
    J.M. Banks, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Both the for-profit and nonprofit businesses were founded by Edward Clancy, a businessman and former political consultant who once worked as an FBI informant.
    Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Good news!
    Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
  • It’s hosted by two sisters, Chanler Bledsoe and Lauren Atkinson, unpacking the celebrity gossip of the week.
    Noor Lobad, WWD, 21 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The Ukrainian soldiers began to see Russian civilians as a hindrance — or worse, as potential informers who could give away their positions.
    Ekaterina Bodyagina Nanna Heitmann, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
  • The arrests were part of wide-ranging Establishment attacks on the new generation of pop stars in Britain at the time, done through connivance with informers and a hostile conservative media.
    Bill Wyman, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • This situation makes the NIH a golden goose for universities, and also a canary in a coal mine.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2025
  • In short, the Amazon is the planet’s canary in the coal mine—its health is directly tied to its survival.
    Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Talebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/talebearer. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

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