appraise

[uh-preyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appraise ON THESAURUS.COM

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 appraiser

referee, court, expert, justice, authority, critic, inspector, connoisseur, reporter, commentator, analyst, appraiser, auditor, investigator, umpire, moderator, negotiator, peacemaker, interpreter, bench

Examples from the Web for appraiser

Contemporary Examples of appraiser

HollywoodLife.com posted a closeup of the gaudy diamond ring, with an appraiser estimating its value at upward of $750,000.
Hockey Hunks Conquer Hollywood!
Peter Lauria
June 1, 2010
There is no source for that valuation beyond Bernie, no appraiser's opinion attached.
Ruth's Secret Stash
Allan Dodds Frank
March 15, 2009

Historical Examples of appraiser

I have taken the inventory of my faculties as calmly as if I were an appraiser.
The Poet at the Breakfast Table
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
He recognized the former at once as Mr. Scantlebray, the appraiser.
In the Roar of the Sea
Sabine Baring-Gould
A theayter cricket is a cricket and not an appraiser, y'understand.
Worrying Won't Win
Montague Glass
If it is found that the goods are undervalued the value will be raised by the appraiser.
Government in the United States
James Wilford Garner
He therefore called out to the appraiser, and asked him what she was going at.
The Book of Noodles
W. A. Clouston

British Dictionary definitions for appraiser

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 appraiser

early 15c., agent noun from appraise (v.).

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.