These words mean to call someone’s attention to something or to cause him to receive knowledge of it. Inform is the most general word and loosely covers the meanings of the other terms in this group. Inform usually points to the imparting of facts or data.

• He informed his staff that he was going to Europe on business; This article informs us that Australia has the lowest standard of dental health in the world.

Advise , notify and apprise carry the connotation of more or less formal announcements. Advise , in this context, is used in the sense of giving a person facts that involve his own interests: A lawyer should always advise his clients as to their legal rights. Notify is the most commonly used term of these three, and it carries a note of urgency, demanding action or an early reply.

• The girl’s parents were notified immediately of her expulsion; He was notified by the Army to report for his medical examination.

Apprise is the most formal of these words and can sound dated or unnecessarily fancy. It may suggest supplying an interested person with facts in accordance with regulation or agreement: Applicants must be apprised of the condition of employment before being signed on.

Acquaint and enlighten both mean to impart knowledge of a wider scope than that suggested by the other words. Acquaint is to make someone familiar with facts or a situation of some complexity: to acquaint oneself with the details of a new job; to acquaint the police with the mysterious lights that appear nightly in the abandoned house. Enlighten , as its root suggests, means to bring information to light, usually about a particular point or situation. It carries more of an element of dispelling ignorance situation of the family.

• A careful daily reading of the newspaper will enlighten the reader as to what is happening in Parliament.