apprise

Think of apprise as a more formal, slightly more elegant way to say 'inform' or 'notify.' When you apprise someone of a situation, you are essentially making sure they are 'in the know' regarding important facts or recent updates.

It is almost always used with the preposition of. For example, a manager might apprise their team of a change in company policy. It carries a sense of professional responsibility—you aren't just gossiping; you are delivering necessary information to someone who needs to be aware.

Because it sounds a bit sophisticated, you will hear it most often in business, legal, or academic contexts. It implies that the person receiving the information has a right or a need to know the details of the matter at hand.

The word apprise has roots that travel back to the French language. It comes from the Old French word aprisier, which meant to 'inform' or 'teach.' This itself traces back to the Latin appretiare, which originally related to setting a price or 'appraising' something.

Interestingly, apprise and appraise are cousins! While they share a similar sound and history, they diverged in meaning over time. Appraise kept the focus on determining value or quality, while apprise shifted toward the act of 'making someone aware' of information.

By the 17th century, apprise became established in English as a formal verb for notification. It has remained a staple of formal correspondence ever since, often used in diplomatic or official reports to indicate that someone has been officially briefed on a topic.

You will almost exclusively find apprise paired with the preposition of. It is a transitive verb, but it doesn't take a direct object in the way 'tell' does; instead, it takes the person being informed as the object, followed by the information they are being told.

Common collocations include 'keep someone apprised of' or 'duly apprised of.' For instance, a project lead might say, 'Please keep me apprised of any further developments.' This shows you are asking for ongoing updates.

This word is high-register. You would use it in an email to your boss or a letter to a client, but you would probably not use it while chatting with friends at a coffee shop. In casual conversation, 'let me know' or 'keep me posted' is much more natural.

While apprise itself isn't an idiom, it is frequently used within common professional expressions. Here are five ways it appears:

• Keep me apprised: The most common usage, meaning 'continue to send me updates.'
• Duly apprised: Used to confirm that someone has been officially informed.
• Fully apprised: Meaning the person has all the necessary information.
• Apprised of the situation: A standard phrase used to confirm someone understands the current status of an issue.
• Keep the board apprised: A common corporate phrase used when reporting to directors or stakeholders.

Apprise is a regular verb. Its past tense and past participle forms are apprised, and its present participle is apprising. It is almost always used in the active voice, though it can appear in passive constructions like 'He was kept apprised of the progress.'

The pronunciation is /əˈpraɪz/. The stress is on the second syllable, which is a common pattern for many English verbs starting with 'a-'. It rhymes with words like surprise, arise, and wise.

Be careful not to confuse the spelling with appraise. They sound nearly identical to many native speakers, but they have different meanings. Always remember: apprise is for information, while appraise is for value.