information

information
    n 1: a message received and understood [syn: {information},
         {info}]
    2: knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction
    3: formal accusation of a crime
    4: a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn;
       "statistical data" [syn: {data}, {information}]
    5: (communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty
       of an outcome; "the signal contained thousands of bits of
       information" [syn: {information}, {selective information},
       {entropy}]
    

Information \In`for*ma"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. informatio
   representation, conception. See {Inform}, v. t.]
   1. The act of informing, or communicating knowledge or
      intelligence.
      [1913 Webster]

            The active informations of the intellect. --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Any fact or set of facts, knowledge, news, or advice,
      whether communicated by others or obtained by personal
      study and investigation; any datum that reduces
      uncertainty about the state of any part of the world;
      intelligence; knowledge derived from reading, observation,
      or instruction.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

            Larger opportunities of information.  --Rogers.
      [1913 Webster]

            He should get some information in the subject he
            intends to handle.                    --Swift.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Law) A proceeding in the nature of a prosecution for some
      offense against the government, instituted and prosecuted,
      really or nominally, by some authorized public officer on
      behalf of the government. It differs from an indictment in
      criminal cases chiefly in not being based on the finding
      of a grand jury. See {Indictment}.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Information Theory) A measure of the number of possible
      choices of messages contained in a symbol, signal,
      transmitted message, or other information-bearing object;
      it is usually quantified as the negative logarithm of the
      number of allowed symbols that could be contained in the
      message; for logarithms to the base 2, the measure
      corresponds to the unit of information, the hartley, which
      is log210, or 3.323 bits; called also {information
      content}. The smallest unit of information that can be
      contained or transmitted is the bit, corresponding to a
      yes-or-no decision.
      [PJC]

   5. (Computers) Useful facts, as contrasted with raw data; as,
      among all this data, there must be some interesting
      information.
      [PJC]
    

information

   <data> The result of applying {data processing} to {data},
   giving it context and meaning.  Information can then be
   further processed to yeild {knowledge}.

   People or computers can find patterns in data to perceive
   information, and information can be used to enhance
   {knowledge}.  Since knowledge is prerequisite to wisdom, we
   always want more data and information.  But, as modern
   societies verge on {information overload}, we especially need
   better ways to find patterns.

   1234567.89 is data.

   "Your bank balance has jumped 8087% to $1234567.89" is
   information.

   "Nobody owes me that much money" is knowledge.

   "I'd better talk to the bank before I spend it, because of
   what has happened to other people" is wisdom.

   (2007-09-10)
    

213 Moby Thesaurus words for "information":
      ALGOL, COBOL, ESP, FORTRAN, accusal, accusation, accusing,
      acquaintance, advice, allegation, allegement, alphabetic data,
      alphanumeric code, angular data, answer, arraignment, assembler,
      bail, bill of particulars, binary digit, binary scale,
      binary system, bit, blame, brass tacks, bringing of charges,
      bringing to book, broadcast journalism, bug, byte, catechization,
      charge, coaching, command pulses, commands, commerce,
      communication, communion, compiler, complaint, computer code,
      computer language, computer program, congress, connection, contact,
      control signals, controlled quantity, conversation, converse,
      corpus, correcting signals, correspondence, count, data, datum,
      dealing, dealings, delation, denouncement, denunciation, didactics,
      direction, dirt, dope, edification, education, enlightenment,
      error, error signals, essential facts, essentials, exchange,
      experience, expertise, facts, factual base, familiarity,
      feedback pulses, feedback signals, film data, gen, guidance,
      hexadecimal system, illumination, impeachment, implication,
      imputation, indictment, info, innuendo, input data, input quantity,
      insinuation, instruction, instructions, intelligence, interaction,
      interchange, intercommunication, intercommunion, intercourse,
      interplay, intimacy, journalism, ken, know-how, knowing, knowledge,
      lawsuit, laying of charges, linguistic intercourse, lore, low-down,
      machine language, message, multiple messages, news, news agency,
      news medium, news service, newsiness, newsletter, newsmagazine,
      newspaper, newsworthiness, noise, numeric data, octal system,
      oscillograph data, output data, output quantity, pedagogics,
      pedagogy, plaint, play, polar data, poop, practical knowledge,
      presentment, press association, private knowledge,
      private teaching, privity, programmed instruction, prosecution,
      punch-card data, radio, random data, ratio cognoscendi,
      rectangular data, reeducation, reference quantity, reply, report,
      reportage, reproach, response, ruly English, schooling, science,
      self-instruction, self-knowledge, self-teaching, signals,
      single messages, social intercourse, speaking, speech,
      speech circuit, speech situation, spoon-feeding, suit, talking,
      taxing, teaching, technic, technics, technique, telegraph agency,
      telepathy, television, the data, the details, the dope, the facts,
      the fourth estate, the information, the particulars, the picture,
      the press, the scoop, the score, the specifics, the whole story,
      tidings, touch, traffic, truck, true bill, tuition, tutelage,
      tutorage, tutoring, tutorship, two-way communication,
      unorganized data, unspoken accusation, veiled accusation,
      visible-speech data, wire service, wisdom, word