What does appraisal mean?
Word: Appraisal
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Appraisal means a careful look at someone or something to decide how good, useful or valuable they are.
Synonyms: evaluation
How do you spell appraisal?
Syllables: ap - prai - sal
Tricky part: It starts with a double p, as many ap- words do, even though only one p is heard.
Watch out for: apraisal, appraisall, appraysal
Memory tip: Two people sit down for a work appraisal, so the word gets two p's.
Appraisal in a sentence
Example 1: Before the big sale, an expert gave the old brass lamp a careful appraisal.
Example 2: Every spring, the manager holds an appraisal with each member of her team.
Example 3: The cricket coach made a quick appraisal of the pitch before choosing to bat.
Fun Fact
Appraise, the verb behind appraisal, comes from the same Old French root as price and praise; to appraise something originally meant to set a price on it. It is easily mixed up with apprise, which means to tell someone about something.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
appr_i_al
a) e, z
b) e, s
c) a, z
d) a, s
Show answer
d) a, s. The vowel pair is ai, as in rain, and the letter after it is an s even though it sounds like a z.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Every year the head of the dance school writes an honest laarsaipp of each pupil's progress.
a) approval
b) arrival
c) apparel
d) appraisal
Show answer
d) appraisal. The jumble holds an s and an i and no o, v or e, so approval, apparel and arrival do not fit.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word appraisal as used in the sentence:
The silversmith's appraisal of Grandma's old bangles took only ten minutes.
a) display
b) purchase
c) repair
d) assessment
Show answer
d) assessment. An assessment weighs up the value of something, which is exactly what the silversmith did.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. rehearsal 2. appraisel 3. refusal 4. proposal
a) a practice of a play or concert before the real show
b) a plan or idea put forward for others to think about
c) the act of saying no when something is offered
d) an expert's view of how much something is worth or how well it is done
Show answer
d) an expert's view of how much something is worth or how well it is done. Rehearsal, proposal and refusal are all correct, so the odd one out is the word for weighing up worth.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. After the appraisal, the old painting turned out to be worth far more than anyone expected. What had happened?
a) It had been moved into a larger frame.
b) An expert had studied it to work out its value.
c) It had been cleaned and painted over.
d) It had been sold to the highest bidder.
Show answer
b) An expert had studied it to work out its value.
2. Which of these is an example of an appraisal?
a) a timetable for the school sports day
b) a thank-you card from a friend
c) a list of books needed for next term
d) a teacher's notes on how well a project was done
Show answer
d) a teacher's notes on how well a project was done
