whistle blower
Reveals hidden wrongdoing
A whistle-blower is someone who exposes wrongdoing within an organization, typically by reporting illegal activity, fraud, or safety violations to authorities or the public.
The term evokes blowing a whistle to stop play or signal alarm.
Whistle-blowers often face retaliation despite legal protections: The whistle-blower leaked documents showing the company had concealed evidence of contamination.
Also spelled whistleblower.
- informantOne who provides intelligence
- fileStored collection of data
- disclosureAct of revealing information
- watchdogGuard or monitor
- muckrakerJournalist exposing corruption
ethics · integrity · courage · honesty · Edward Snowden · leaked documents · classified information · smoking gun · reporting · leak · accountability · retaliation · wrongful termination · legal protection · transparency · truth-teller · public interest · revelation
- signal sendersflagman, radio operator, lighthouse keeper, traffic cop, air traffic controller
whistle blowerloyalist
Faithful supporter of authority
company man · party loyalist · organization man · team player · yes-man
whistle bloweraccomplice
Crime's willing helper
co-conspirator · enabler · perpetrator · collaborator · abettor
whistle blowerconcealer
Cosmetic for hiding flaws
suppressor · stonewaller · obfuscator · whitewasher · hider
whistle, blower, whistles, whistled, whistling, whistler, blow, blows, blown