appraise

[uh-preyz]

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verb (used with object), ap·praised, ap·prais·ing.

to estimate the monetary value of; determine the worth of; assess: We had an expert appraise the house before we bought it.

to estimate the nature, quality, importance, etc.: He tried to appraise the poetry of John Updike.

Origin of appraise

1400–50; late Middle English apraysen to set a value on, probably a conflation of aprisen to apprize¹ and preisen to praise (with sense of prize²)

Related formsap·prais·a·ble, adjectiveap·prais·er, nounap·prais·ing·ly, adverbap·prais·ive, adjectivemis·ap·praise, verb (used with object), mis·ap·praised, mis·ap·prais·ing.o·ver·ap·praise, verb (used with object), o·ver·ap·praised, o·ver·ap·prais·ing.re·ap·praise, verb (used with object), re·ap·praised, re·ap·prais·ing.un·ap·praised, adjective

Can be confusedappraise apprise

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for appraise

audit, calculate, evaluate, inspect, assess, examine, gauge, peg, assay, figure, read, valuate, review, value, price, rate, deem, survey, eye, adjudge

Examples from the Web for appraise

Contemporary Examples of appraise

We appraise the legacy of 9/11 through politics and the news, but side effects include numbness.
Reading the Best 9/11 Novels
Jimmy So
September 11, 2013
During gallery hours, he is seated at a desk, ready to “appraise” works of art as they come through the door.
Where Bad Art Goes to Die
Sasha Watson
February 11, 2010
As I listen to the TV hosts jackhammering over the soft Southern accents of the guests, I appraise butts.
The Bag Lady's Papers, Part III
Alexandra Penney
January 6, 2009

Historical Examples of appraise

She was little concerned with the morality of her course as others might appraise it.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The only standard by which the majority of us appraise our work is man's.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
It would have been easier to appraise had there been a workable alternative.
End of the Tether
Joseph Conrad
To collect, scrutinise, and appraise facts is his chief business.Science.
The Industries of Animals
Frdric Houssay
Its efficiency is not the efficiency which the business engineer is fitted to appraise.
The Frontier in American History
Frederick Jackson Turner

British Dictionary definitions for appraise

appraise

verb (tr)

to assess the worth, value, or quality of

to make a valuation of, as for taxation purposes

Derived Formsappraisable, adjectiveappraiser, nounappraisingly, adverbappraisive, adjectiveappraisively, adverb

Word Origin for appraise

C15: from Old French aprisier, from prisier to prize ²

usage

Appraise is sometimes wrongly used where apprise is meant: they had been apprised (not appraised) of my arrival

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for appraise

c.1400, "to set a value on," from stem of Old French aprisier "apraise, set a price on" (14c., Modern French apprécier), from Late Latin appretiare "value, estimate," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + pretium "price" (see price (n.)). Original English spelling apprize altered by influence of praise. Related: Appraised; appraising.