What does notifying mean?
Notifying means formally or officially telling someone that an event has occurred, a decision has been made, or action may be required. It is especially common in legal, governmental, workplace, and administrative communication, where clear records and an official notice are important. For example, a landlord may notify tenants of repairs, while a company may notify customers of a service outage. The present participle “notifying” can describe both this action and an announcement that gives information: “notifying the authorities of the breach.” Although “tell” is more frequent in everyday conversation, “notify” is appropriate when formality or explicitness matters. The word can also imply that information is being provided to someone who needs to become aware of it, without necessarily suggesting a direct conversation.
verbTo inform someone officially or formally that something has happened or that they need to know something. As a present participle, it also means the act of giving someone such information.
- To formally or officially inform someone of an event, decision, or requirement.
- The act of informing someone or giving notification.
- To give someone formal notice of a legal, administrative, or organizational matter.
"The council notified residents of the planned changes by letter."
"Employees are notifying their managers of any changes to their availability."
"The notice notifying residents of the closure appeared on the building's front door."
To notify is literally to make something known: its roots join the Latin notus, meaning “known,” with facere, meaning “to make.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does notifying come from?
The word comes from Latin notificare, formed from notus, meaning “known,” and facere, meaning “to make,” so its original sense was “to make known.” English adopted the form in the early 16th century, initially in the sense of making something known or giving notice. Related English words include notice, notion, notable, and notorious, all of which share the Latin root notus.
Related word forms
How notifying is actually used
The word is common in formal and official contexts, including legal, administrative, and workplace communication. In everyday speech, “tell” is often more natural, while “notify” can suggest an official announcement.
Easily confused with notifying
Notifying means giving someone information, whereas noting usually means making a written or mental record of something.
Notifying communicates information, while naming specifically identifies a person, place, or thing.