evaluation
Americannoun
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an act or instance of evaluating or appraising.
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(especially in medicine) a diagnosis or diagnostic study of a physical or mental condition.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of evaluation
From the French word évaluation, dating back to 1745–55. See e- 1, valuation
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Explanation
An evaluation is an appraisal of something to determine its worth or fitness. For example, before you start an exercise program, get a medical evaluation, to make sure you're able to handle the activity. At the heart of the noun evaluation is the root word value, which means "worth." So an evaluation is an examination to find the worth of something. We do this every day — maybe making an evaluation of the prices in a store to decide whether or not to shop there. We might get an appraisal of our property, which is an evaluation to determine its worth in preparation for taking out a mortgage. Evaluation is vital in planning our lives.
Vocabulary lists containing evaluation
Out of My Mind
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ion, -tion, -ation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Deng spent much of his career assigned to the LAPD’s Mental Evaluation Unit, which helps officers respond to crisis calls.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
The FDA rejected Replimune’s first application for the drug two months after Vinay Prasad was appointed to lead the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
The request then passes to a Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, which has the task of assessing if the conditions have been met.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has openly criticized some U.S. vaccine policies.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025
Evaluation of the foregoing studies for a new understanding of the prismatic phenomenon.
From Man or Matter by Lehrs, Ernst
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
