notify

verb

no·​ti·​fy ˈnō-tə-ˌfī 

notified; notifying

transitive verb

1

: to give formal notice to

notify a family of the death of a relation

She notified the police about the accident.

2

: to give notice of or report the occurrence of

He notified his intention to sue.

She notified my arrival to the governor.

3

obsolete : to point out

notifier

ˈnō-tə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Choose the Right Synonym for notify

inform, acquaint, apprise, notify mean to make one aware of something.

inform implies the imparting of knowledge especially of facts or occurrences.

informed us of the crisis

acquaint lays stress on introducing to or familiarizing with.

acquaint yourself with the keyboard

apprise implies communicating something of special interest or importance.

keep us apprised of the situation

notify implies sending notice of something requiring attention or demanding action.

notified the witness when to appear

Examples of notify in a Sentence

Customers were notified of the changes in the company.

I was notified that I did not get the job.

Recent Examples on the Web

Beginning in 2029, public water systems that violate the new standards must attempt to reduce levels and notify the public of the violation. —Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 20 Apr. 2024

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office declined to release the person’s name, saying next of kin had not been notified. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024

The officers were denied entry into the home and were not allowed to search the residence or to interview Ye. March 4: The Rockville City Police Department notified the MCPD Community Engagement Division for an intervention. —USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024

The union has notified Disney of the petition and hopes the company grants voluntary recognition. —Chris Morris, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024

The city also issued a wireless emergency alert to notify the public about the 911 system outage. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024

The bill also requires that parents be notified of any presentations by organizations and that parents have the option to withhold their student from participation. —Ryan Dailey, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024

However, the father said police didn’t notify him that investigators had finally found his son after the long search. —Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office will identify the motorcyclist once next of kin have been notified. All northbound lanes of Texas 121 were closed to traffic while police investigated. —Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English notifien, from Anglo-French notifier to make known, from Late Latin notificare, from Latin notus known

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing notify

• pre-notify

Kids Definition

notify

verb

no·​ti·​fy ˈnōt-ə-ˌfī 

notified; notifying

: to give notice to : inform

notify the police

notifier

-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Medical Definition

notify

transitive verb

no·​ti·​fy ˈnōt-ə-ˌfī 

notified; notifying

1

British : to report the occurrence of (a case of communicable disease) or the occurrence of communicable disease in (an individual)

all cases of disease should be notified by the treating consultant

—Practitioner

2

: to give formal notice to

the Broward County Public Health Unit … was notified of three children … hospitalized with encephalitis attributed to cat scratch disease

—Journal of the American Medical Association