What does apprize mean?
Apprize is a verb meaning to inform or notify someone of something, functioning today chiefly as a less common spelling variant of the standard form 'apprise'. It appears most often in formal registers — official letters, legal documents, and business correspondence — where phrases such as 'apprized of the situation' or 'duly apprized' convey that relevant parties have been properly informed. Historically, the word carried a second sense: to set a value on something, essentially what we now call appraising. This dual heritage reflects its origin in the Latin pretium, meaning price, which also gave English words like 'price', 'precious', and 'appreciate'. Because the '-ize' spelling can look like an error to modern readers, careful writers generally prefer 'apprise'; nevertheless, 'apprize' remains legitimate and appears in older texts and some dictionaries. Its closest confusable is 'appraise', which concerns valuation rather than notification — a distinction worth keeping firmly in mind.
verbTo inform or notify someone about something; a less common spelling variant of 'apprise'. In older usage it also meant to set a price on or value something.
- To inform or notify someone formally of something.
- (Archaic) To assess the value of something; to appraise.
"The committee was apprized of the changes well before the meeting."
"The board was duly apprized of the merger negotiations before any public announcement."
"In earlier legal texts, officials were instructed to apprize the estate and record its worth."
Spelled with a z instead of an s, 'apprize' is simply 'apprise' wearing a historical disguise — same Latin root as 'price' and 'precious'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does apprize come from?
Apprize entered English in the late medieval period from Old French 'apriser', formed from Latin 'ad-' (to) plus 'pretium' (price), so its earliest sense was literally 'to set a price on' — the same root that produced 'appraise', 'price', 'precious', and 'appreciate'. Over time the word shifted toward the sense of informing someone, aligning with the parallel French verb 'apprendre'-derived usage behind 'apprise'. Both spellings, -ise and -ize, have coexisted since early modern English, with 'apprise' eventually becoming dominant while 'apprize' survived as a recognized variant.
How apprize is actually used
The '-ize' spelling is now rare; most writers use 'apprise'. The word carries a formal register, typical of official correspondence and legal or business contexts. The archaic sense of valuing property overlaps historically with 'appraise', which has taken over that meaning entirely.
Easily confused with apprize
'Apprise' is the standard modern spelling meaning to inform; 'apprize' is an older or less common variant with the same meaning.
'Appraise' means to assess the value or quality of something, whereas 'apprize'/'apprise' means to inform someone.