appraise

verb

ə-ˈprāz How to pronounce appraise (audio)
Definition of appraisenext
as in to assess
to make an approximate or tentative judgment regarding take a moment to appraise the current situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb appraise differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of appraise are assess, estimate, evaluate, rate, and value. While all these words mean "to judge something with respect to its worth or significance," appraise commonly implies the fixing by an expert of the monetary worth of a thing, but it may be used of any critical judgment.

having their house appraised

When could assess be used to replace appraise?

The words assess and appraise can be used in similar contexts, but assess implies a critical appraisal for the purpose of understanding or interpreting, or as a guide in taking action.

officials are trying to assess the damage

When can estimate be used instead of appraise?

The meanings of estimate and appraise largely overlap; however, estimate implies a judgment, considered or casual, that precedes or takes the place of actual measuring or counting or testing out.

estimated the crowd at two hundred

When might evaluate be a better fit than appraise?

Although the words evaluate and appraise have much in common, evaluate suggests an attempt to determine relative or intrinsic worth in terms other than monetary.

evaluate a student's work

How are the words rate and estimate related as synonyms of appraise?

Rate adds to estimate the notion of placing a thing according to a scale of values.

a highly rated restaurant

How do value and appraise relate to one another?

Value equals appraise but without implying expertness of judgment.

a watercolor valued by the donor at $500

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of appraise Because each property is formally appraised only periodically and self-reported in between, the quarter-to-quarter figures understate how much the underlying land actually moves. — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 The property was appraised at $67 million by the county, according to a New York Times story cited by the lawsuit, but a real estate consultant estimated the property could sell for at least $360 million. — Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 23 June 2026 This land is currently appraised at approximately $26,000, according to Arkansas property records. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026 Gomez said in an attempt to stay in their current spot, the guild had the building appraised and made an offer, but the church declined it. — Anna Ortiz, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for appraise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appraise
  1. assess
  2. estimate
  3. value
  4. evaluate
Verb
  • She was rescued from the area by firefighters and assessed on their boat.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • In addition, there are the findings of the Police Reform Organizing Project’s (PROP) Court Monitoring Project, a kind of misnomer since its work actually involves assessing NYPD arrest practices.
    — Robert Gangi, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of assess
Verb
  • The results of that study, published in 2016, identified 235 distinct bears using genetic testing and estimated the total bear population in western Connecticut was around 400 to 450 individuals.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The Ventura County Sheriff's Office estimated that the total damage will cost car owners several thousand dollars.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of estimate
Verb
  • Separately, PalmPay, the fintech company launched in Nigeria with backing from Transsion and China’s NetEase, is seeking about $200 million ahead of a potential Hong Kong IPO that could value it at more than $1 billion.
    — Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Legend has it that Steinbrenner himself put up less than $200,000 of his own money — perhaps as little as $168,000 — to secure a roughly two percent initial ownership stake in a total purchase package initially valued at just over $10 million.
    — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of value
Verb
  • Among them is Benjamin Radford, a research fellow and investigator with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a nonprofit organization that evaluates paranormal and fringe-science claims from a scientific viewpoint.
    — Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The score came in dramatic fashion, as Fields caught the pass from Dart after the QB had exited the game following a massive hit — more on that later — and was subsequently evaluated and cleared for a concussion.
    — Charlotte Carroll, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of evaluate

Browse Nearby Words

appraisals
appraise
appraised
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Appraise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appraise. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on appraise

Nglish: Translation of appraise for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of balmy

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All