Informant vs. Rat — What's the Difference?

Someone cooperating with law enforcement for personal benefit.

A person who informs on others without their consent.

An individual involved in espionage or intelligence gathering.

Informer under duress or threat.

A person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency.

Someone who betrays others to save themselves.

An insider who covertly supplies information.

A descriptor for someone who leaks confidential information.

A source of information in a criminal investigation.

A derogatory term for a betrayer or snitch.

An informant (also called an informer) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential human source (CHS), or criminal informants (CI).

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus Rattus.

A person who gives information to another.

A rodent that resembles a large mouse, typically having a pointed snout and a long tail. Some kinds have become cosmopolitan and are sometimes responsible for transmitting diseases.

One that gives information.

A despicable person, especially a man who has been deceitful or disloyal

One who informs against others; an informer.

A person who is associated with or frequents a specified place

One who furnishes linguistic or cultural information to a researcher.

A pad used to give shape and fullness to a woman's hair.

One who relays confidential information to someone, especially to the police; an informer.

Used to express mild annoyance or irritation.

(linguistics) A native speaker who acts as a linguistic reference for a language being studied. The informant demonstrates native pronunciation, provides grammaticality judgments regarding linguistic well-formedness, and may also explain cultural references and other important contextual information.

Desert one's party, side, or cause

One who, or that which, informs, animates, or vivifies.

Shape (hair) with a rat.

One who imparts information or instruction.

Any of various long-tailed rodents resembling mice but larger, especially one of the genus Rattus.

One who offers an accusation; an informer. See Informer.

Any of various animals similar to one of these long-tailed rodents.

A person who supplies information

A despicable person, especially one who betrays or informs upon associates.

Someone who sees an event and reports what happened

A scab laborer.

A pad of material, typically hair, worn as part of a woman's coiffure to puff out her own hair.

(Slang) A person who frequently passes time at a particular place. Often used in combination

To hunt for or catch rats, especially with the aid of dogs.

(Slang) To reveal incriminating or embarrassing information about someone, especially to a person in authority

(Slang) To work as a scab laborer.

To puff out (the hair) with or as if with a pad of material.

(zoology) A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus.

(informal) Any of the numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) that resemble true rats in appearance, usually having a pointy snout, a long, bare tail, and body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.

(informal) A person who is known for betrayal; a scoundrel; a quisling.

(informal) An informant or snitch.

(informal) A scab: a worker who acts against trade union policies.

(slang) A person who routinely spends time at a particular location.

A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.

A roll of material used to puff out the hair, which is turned over it.

Vagina.

(regional) A scratch or a score.

A place in the sea with rapid currents and crags where a ship is likely to be torn apart in stormy weather.

(usually with “on” or “out”) To betray a person or party, especially by telling their secret to an authority or an enemy; to turn someone in.

To work as a scab, going against trade union policies.

(of a dog, etc.) To kill rats.

(regional) To scratch or score.

To tear, rip, rend.

Damn, drat, blast; used in oaths.

One of several species of small rodents of the genus Rattus (formerly included in Mus) and allied genera, of the family Muridae, distinguished from mice primarily by being larger. They infest houses, stores, and ships, especially the Norway rat, also called brown rat, (Rattus norvegicus formerly Mus decumanus), the black rat (Rattus rattus formerly Mus rattus), and the roof rat (formerly Mus Alexandrinus, now included in Rattus rattus). These were introduced into America from the Old World. The white rat used most commonly in laboratories is primarily a strain derived from Rattus rattus.

A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material, used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their natural hair.

One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the trades, one who works for lower wages than those prescribed by a trades union.

In English politics, to desert one's party from interested motives; to forsake one's associates for one's own advantage; in the trades, to work for less wages, or on other conditions, than those established by a trades union.

To catch or kill rats.

To be an informer (against an associate); to inform (on an associate); to squeal; - used commonly in the phrase to rat on.

Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse

Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike

A person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible;

One who reveals confidential information in return for money

A pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure

Desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage

Employ scabs or strike breakers in

Take the place of work of someone on strike

Give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat

Catch rats, especially with dogs

Give away information about somebody;

In criminal terms, a rat is someone who betrays others by providing information to authorities, typically seen in a negative light.

People become informants to reduce their own legal penalties, gain monetary rewards, or secure protection from authorities.

Informants can be trusted to the extent that their information is verified by authorities, though their motives are often self-serving.

An informant secretly provides information for personal gain or legal benefits, while a whistleblower exposes wrongdoing for ethical reasons.

Informants may receive legal immunity, witness protection, or other security measures depending on their agreement with authorities.

An informant is someone who provides important information to an organization, often covertly and within legal frameworks for some benefit.

Informants risk retaliation from those they inform against, loss of trust, or danger if their identity is exposed.

While commonly involved in criminal investigations, informants can also be part of corporate espionage, political intelligence gathering, or other information-centric operations.

Informants may be viewed more neutrally or even positively if their information leads to positive outcomes, whereas rats are universally seen in a negative light due to their betrayal.

While unlikely, an organization may strategically use a rat's actions as part of a deceptive tactic or counterintelligence measure.

Being a rat is not illegal; however, it involves betrayal and can lead to social ostracism or worse, depending on the context.

Organizations may take steps to isolate or remove rats to prevent further damage or information leaks.

Being known as a rat in a community can lead to severe social exclusion, mistrust, and potential harm, as it marks the person as untrustworthy and disloyal.

Informants are often recruited from within criminal organizations or by targeting individuals who can be coerced or incentivized to cooperate.

Rats are primarily motivated by self-preservation, fear of punishment, or immediate personal gain.