What does apprising mean?
Apprising is the act of formally informing someone about a matter, typically rendered as the present participle of the verb 'apprise'. It carries a distinctly formal, professional tone and appears most often in business, legal, diplomatic, and administrative contexts, where officials brief superiors, colleagues, or stakeholders on developments. The verb almost always takes the construction 'apprise someone of something', as in 'apprising the committee of the findings'. Because it sounds nearly identical to 'appraising' — the assessment of value — the two are frequently confused, though their meanings are entirely different: one conveys information, the other evaluates worth. Derived from the same Old French root that gave us 'appraise' and ultimately the idea of setting a price on things, 'apprise' drifted toward the purely informational sense. For writers seeking a polished alternative to plainer verbs like 'telling' or 'updating', apprising lends an air of authority and deliberateness to communication.
verb (present participle of apprise)The act of informing or notifying someone about something, typically used as the present participle of the verb 'apprise'.
- To inform or notify someone formally about a situation, development, or set of facts.
"She spent the morning apprising the board of the merger's progress."
"The ambassador was kept busy apprising Washington of the rapidly changing situation."
"He wrote a memo apprising staff of the new security procedures."
Despite looking like 'appraising', this word has nothing to do with value — it's all about keeping people in the know.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of apprising
Apprising derives from the verb 'apprise', which entered English in the late 15th century from French 'apprendre' via its infinitive stem, ultimately tracing back to Latin 'apprehendere', meaning to grasp or seize. A parallel borrowing produced 'appraise', from the related notion of fixing a price, which is why the two words look and sound so alike while having diverged in meaning. Cognates sharing this root include 'appraisal', 'praise', and 'price'.
Related word forms
How apprising is actually used
Formal register; common in business, diplomatic, and official contexts. Almost always appears in the construction 'apprise someone of something'. The present participle form is less common than the base verb.
Easily confused with apprising
Appraising means assessing the value or quality of something, while apprising means informing someone about it.