by observing what she didn't say or by asking about something else so that she inadvertently revealed the info you really wanted). informe Without regular form shapeless ugly deformed. You could add a sentence or clause explaining exactly how you did this (e.g. We can use share and inform synonymously when we’re talking about new information or updates. So, I winkled out the information I wanted. But I couldn't ask her for it, or most probably she would not give to me even if I asked her. It also doesn't necessarily imply why the information isn't immediately forthcoming-it could be that the person with the information is actively resistant to sharing, or it could just be an entirely neutral situation, as when scientists winkle out information about the human genome or editors winkle out subtle nuances of meaning between similar phrases. ( Courtney Schafer, The Tainted City, 2012) If he didn't already know, he would soon. Still, I wouldn't put it past Marten to have somehow winkled out every last detail. Snippet view.)Ĭara had refrained from explaining the whole sordid mess in her letter to Marten, saying only that I'd lost all my earnings thanks to a business partner's betrayal. ( Susanna Jones, The Missing Person's Guide to Love, 2008. 'But I winkled it out of the neighbours, piece by piece. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have a strong implication of exactly what methods were used to elicit the information that is, it might be through persistent questioning, or it might be through shrewd observation and deduction. From MacMillan Dictionary:ġ to get something such as information from someone when they did not intend to give it to youĪs an American, it does sound rather British to me, but it does seem a useful term.

One term I know of for this is winkle (out). To prize something from/out of somebody Source Here are some of the best ones we want to share with you: I would like to bring to your attention. Two verbs I've already had but I think are not suitable: There are plenty of better alternatives to using FYI formally. It could be a phrasal verb and so not just a single word, but I couldn't devise a blank suitable for all possibilities! Probably she would not give to me even if I asked her. So the word I am looking for shouldn't be only for cases where we coerce or force others to give us information, and it shouldn't be only for cases where others do not like to give us information. I want a verb for when others do not give us information - whether because they do not like to or they just don't give it, but we cannot directly ask them to - but we actively extract the information from them sometimes without them being aware of it. Sometimes, others just inform us about things without us asking them, other times they do not do that even if we ask them. Answers without enough detail may be edited or deleted. Want to improve this post? Provide detailed answers to this question, including citations and an explanation of why your answer is correct.

Inform synonym