Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

assess

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of assess

1 to establish or apply as a charge or penalty
  • the utility company will assess a fee if your payment is late
Synonyms of assess

charge, exact, fine, impose, lay, levy, put
Words Related to assess

dock, excise, mulct, penalize, tax

extort, shake down, wrest, wring

bleed, fleece, gouge, milk, skin, squeeze

coerce, compel, force

inflict, wreak

set

reapply, reimpose, relay
Near Antonyms of assess

abate, diminish, lessen

forgive, release

condone, disregard, excuse, gloss (over), gloze (over), ignore, pardon
Antonyms of assess

remit
2 to make an approximate or tentative judgment regarding
  • let's step back and assess the situation
Synonyms of assess

appraise, estimate, evaluate, guesstimate, rate, set, valuate, value
Words Related to assess

adjudge, deem, judge

ascertain, determine, discover, learn

price, prize

decide, settle

analyze, assay, survey, test

reappraise, reassess, reevaluate, rejudge, revalue

transvaluate, transvalue

misesteem, misjudge, misprize, underestimate, undervalue

Synonym Discussion of assess

estimate, appraise, evaluate, value, rate, assess mean to judge something with respect to its worth or significance. 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
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
evaluate suggests an attempt to determine relative or intrinsic worth in terms other than monetary.
    • evaluate a student's work
value equals appraise but without implying expertness of judgment.
    • a watercolor valued by the donor at $500
rate adds to estimate the notion of placing a thing according to a scale of values.
    • a highly rated restaurant
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

Learn More about assess

  1. See words that rhyme with assess Dictionary: Definition of assess Spanish Central: Translation of assess Nglish: Translation of assess for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of assess for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up assess? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games