Origin: Latin suffix -al
Appraisal has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
the classification of someone or something with respect to its worth
"The bank conducted a formal appraisal of the house to determine its market value before approving the mortgage."
a document appraising the value of something (as for insurance or taxation)
"The insurance company required an official appraisal to determine the replacement cost of my damaged house."
an expert estimation of the quality, quantity, and other characteristics of someone or something
"The real estate agent provided a formal appraisal of the house that determined its market value based on recent sales in the neighborhood."
The act or process of developing an opinion of value.
"The real estate agent conducted a detailed appraisal to determine the market value of the newly renovated house."
In plain English: An appraisal is an official opinion about how much something is worth, usually done by someone who knows that kind of thing well.
"The manager gave me an appraisal that praised my hard work during the project."
Usage: Use appraisal to describe the formal evaluation of property, art, or assets by an expert rather than your own personal assessment. This term is often confused with appraise when referring specifically to the noun form representing that professional judgment.
The word appraisal comes from the verb appraise, which entered English via French to mean an estimate of value. The suffix -al was added later to form this noun describing the act or process of making such an evaluation.