delatore
informer
noun deh-lah-TOH-reh Rare
Origin: From Latin delator, from deferre ('to report, denounce').
Also means
snitch
Usage Note
Delatore carries a strongly negative historical resonance in Italian, linked especially to denunciations under Fascism and the Nazi occupation. The feminine form is delatrice. It is more formal and weighted than the colloquial spia ('spy, snitch') and implies active, deliberate betrayal to an authority.
Examples
"Il delatore aveva rivelato il nascondiglio ai soldati."
Natural Translation
The informer had revealed the hiding place to the soldiers.
Related Words
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