Alerting: meaning, definitions and examples

Commonly used in safety and security contexts to indicate immediate attention is required.

• The fire alarm is alerting the building occupants.
• He is alerting the authorities about the suspicious package.

Used to inform someone of a potential danger or undesirable outcome. Often carries a negative connotation.

• The dark clouds were a warning of the approaching storm.
• He received a warning from his manager about missing deadlines.

Used when delivering important information, often in a formal or official manner.

• The company is notifying its employees about the new policy changes.
• She sent an email notifying her colleagues of the meeting time.

Best suited for contexts involving waking up from sleep or becoming aware of new information, often used metaphorically.

• The loud noise caused an abrupt awakening for everyone in the house.
• The documentary was an awakening to many hidden issues in society.

Used generally to describe the process of making someone aware of danger or need for action.

• The system is alerting the authorities about the fire
• The phone app is constantly alerting me about new updates

Used to refer to a message or alert that informs someone of an event, generally in a non-urgent manner. Common in digital contexts.

• I received a notification about a new message
• The app sends notifications for all my upcoming meetings

Often refers to a device or system designed to give a warning of a specific danger, typically in an urgent or frightening manner.

• The fire alarm went off in the middle of the night
• Her alarm clock rang loudly at 6 AM

A broader term, can refer to any kind of indication, often used for communication purposes or to denote the presence of something.

• The traffic light gave a green signal, so we proceeded
• She gave a hand signal to call attention to the issue