appraise
uh-PRAYZ
/əˈpreɪz/
To assess the value, quality, or significance of something, especially officially.
Often implies a professional evaluation to determine monetary value or authenticity, typically for insurance or sale.
The story behind the word. The word comes from the Old French 'aprisier', which literally means 'to set a price to.' This is built on the Latin root 'pretium' (price), which also gives us 'precious' and 'appreciate.' It reflects the transition of trade from simple bartering to structured, professional valuation.
Word relationships
- evaluate: Evaluate is a broad term for judging quality or significance, while appraise specifically implies estimating monetary value or official worth.
- assess: Assess can refer to calculating taxes or general situations, whereas appraise is highly tied to market valuation of physical items.
- ignore: Ignore means to pay no attention to or fail to evaluate the worth of something.
Commonly confused with
- apprise: Apprise means to inform or notify someone, whereas appraise means to estimate the value of something.
Word family
- appraisal (noun): An act of assessing something or someone; a valuation.
- appraiser (noun): A person who estimates the value of something, especially professionally.
Collocations
- appraise the value
- professionally appraised
- appraise an antique
- appraise property
Example sentences
- "The expert was asked to appraise the antique vase, valuing it at over ten thousand dollars." A television show about antiques.
- "Before the bank would approve the mortgage, they sent an inspector to appraise the house." A real estate transaction.
Memory hook
Think of 'praise'. When you 'appraise' something, you decide if it deserves 'praise' (high value) or not. To put a price on it.
When not to use
Do not confuse with 'apprise' (to inform). Do not use when you are just giving a casual, uneducated opinion on value.
Fun facts
- On the popular TV show 'Antiques Roadshow', guests are often shocked when appraisers reveal that their family hand-me-downs are worth fortunes.
Related words
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