assess

verb

ə-ˈses How to pronounce assess (audio)
Definition of assessnext
1
as in to impose
to establish or apply as a charge or penalty the utility company will assess a fee if your payment is late

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to estimate
to make an approximate or tentative judgment regarding let's step back and assess the situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb assess differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of assess are appraise, estimate, evaluate, rate, and value. While all these words mean "to judge something with respect to its worth or significance," 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

Where would appraise be a reasonable alternative to assess?

Although the words appraise and assess have much in common, 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 would estimate be a good substitute for assess?

In some situations, the words estimate and assess are roughly equivalent. 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 is evaluate a more appropriate choice than assess?

The synonyms evaluate and assess are sometimes interchangeable, but evaluate suggests an attempt to determine relative or intrinsic worth in terms other than monetary.

evaluate a student's work

How do rate and estimate relate to one another, in the sense of assess?

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

a highly rated restaurant

How are the words value and appraise related as synonyms of assess?

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 assess Each user will have to assess their own risks, with some likely more vulnerable to having their identity exposed and others likely more vulnerable to having financial data exposed. —Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2025 The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend assessing a patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) to guide treatment strategies. —Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2025 First, the judicial officer often assesses indigency and, if appropriate, appoints counsel. —Arkansas Online, 31 July 2025 Saudi Arabia's flagship urban development, The Line, entered a critical phase of evaluation this week, as the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) engaged external consulting firms to assess the feasibility of the megaproject. —Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for assess
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assess
  1. impose
  2. estimate
  3. charge
  4. value
  5. evaluate
Verb
  • The president said on Monday that the U.S. will impose 100% tariffs on countries that engage in trade with Russia if there is no peace deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.
    — Alain Sherter, CBS News, 14 July 2025
  • This surge follows new state laws imposing harsher penalties for school threats, including felony charges.
    — Kelly Puente, The Tennessean, 14 July 2025
Definition of impose
Verb
  • Applying results from that study and other research to the recent CBO estimate allowed Gaffney and other researchers to estimate specific effects of losing coverage.
    — TOM MURPHY, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2025
  • But those donations, estimated at around $20 million, ultimately amounted to too little, too late to cover the funding that CPB lost.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2025
Definition of estimate
Verb
  • The woman's debit card was charged $31.72 and then $141.31 and then $89.95 for this order.
    — Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 24 July 2025
  • For now, the team is in production on an untitled Netflix series about Karen Read, whose boyfriend was found dead and who was charged over his murder yet always insisted she was framed as part of a conspiracy by civilians and law enforcement to protect the real killers.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 July 2025
Definition of charge
Verb
  • Skydance’s merger agreement with Paramount valued Skydance at $4.75 billion.
    — Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
  • And the traits females valued in men differed dramatically from what males valued in themselves, GWI found.
    — Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025
Definition of value
Verb
  • Therefore, a first step in structuring your team for rapid growth is evaluating which roles are critical to the business’s long-term growth and which current roles can be transitioned to fill those needs.
    — Ahzam Afzal, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
  • Installation of the devices at village intersections originally was evaluated based on a number of variables, including traffic volume, accident rates, crash and injury severity, crash type and red-light violations committed during those crashes.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
Definition of evaluate

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Cite this Entry

“Assess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assess. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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