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nark

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Inform or spy.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

nahrk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

nɑɹk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Inform or spy (for the police)

  2. transitiveintransitiveslang

    To serve or behave as a spy or informer; to tattle.

  3. transitiveslang

    To annoy or irritate.

  4. intransitiveslang

    To complain.

  5. transitiveslangoften imperative

    To stop.

noun

  1. UKIreland

    An informer or spy working for the police

  2. A police officer or federal agent assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control.

  3. Australia

    An unpleasant person, especially one who makes things difficult for others.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Typical Use
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Inform or spy (for the police)

Used this way, nark is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

question nark

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • copper's narknounCompound term

    An informer or spy working for the police.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: informer or spy working for the police

narcInformal

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.