nark
14 synonyms for nark, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — (informal) Someone who secretly gives information to the police.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
(informal) Someone who secretly gives information to the police.
“When we got to the Chief of Police's office a crowd of the most dreadful-looking scoundrels, obviously police narks, informers, and spies of every kind, were hanging about outside the door.”
2. noun
(informal) A person who is annoying or causes trouble for others.
Etymology
Uncertain. It may come from Angloromani nok ("nose"), from Romani nakh, from Sauraseni Prakrit ???? (ṇakka), which would make it ultimately a doublet of nose.
Full origin of nark →