appraise
uh-PREYZ
/əˈpreɪz/
To assess the value, quality, or significance of something, especially by an expert.
Implies a formal, objective, and professional evaluation, often resulting in an official estimated monetary value.
The story behind the word. The word comes from the Late Latin 'appretiare,' which literally meant 'to put a price on.' It entered Middle English through Old French, maintaining its core meaning of having an authorized expert determine exactly how much coin an item was worth.
Word relationships
- evaluate: Evaluate is a general term for judging quality or significance, while appraise specifically emphasizes determining monetary or professional value.
- neglect: To neglect is to pay no attention to or fail to care for, rather than assessing value.
Commonly confused with
- apprise: Apprise means to inform or tell someone (e.g., 'keep me apprised'), whereas appraise means to estimate the value of something.
Word family
- appraisal (noun): An expert estimate or assessment of something's value.
- appraiser (noun): A person whose job is to assess the value of property or goods.
Collocations
- appraise an item
- professionally appraised
- appraise the value
- appraise property
Example sentences
- "The expert was called to appraise the oil painting, discovering it was a rare 18th-century masterpiece." An antique show evaluation.
- "Before the bank would approve the mortgage, they sent an inspector to appraise the house's market value." A real estate transaction.
Memory hook
To appraise is to set a 'praise-worthy' price on an object. Praise the price.
When not to use
Do not use for casual, subjective opinions (e.g., 'I appraised his new haircut' is incorrect; use 'evaluate' or 'judge' instead).
Fun facts
- On the popular television show 'Antiques Roadshow,' items that guests bought for a few dollars at garage sales are frequently appraised for tens of thousands of dollars.
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.