alerted

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of alert.

   The smoke detector alerted the family to the fire downstairs.

   Neighbors had alerted the authorities before the flood reached town.

   Note

   One regular -ed form does two jobs: the simple past (she alerted him) and the participle after have or be (has alerted, was alerted). The usual pattern is alert someone to something, as in alerting a family to a fire. In the passive the to stays with the verb: they were alerted to the danger. As a participle it also settles into the adjective.

2. 2
   adjective

   Made attentive, alarmed, or warned about something that is coming soon.

   The alerted crew sealed the hatches before the storm reached the harbor.

   Residents, alerted to the gas leak, evacuated within minutes.

   Note

   A participle turned adjective, it keeps the trace of an event behind it: someone or something gave the warning. That separates it from plain alert, which names a watchful state with no cause implied. An alerted crew has been told; an alert crew is simply watchful. It sits before a noun (the alerted crew) or in a phrase set off by commas, and it compares with more and most.

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