Meaning & use
evaluate
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To think about something carefully and decide how good, useful or successful it is.
Grammar: Takes an object: evaluate the results.
Patterns
- evaluate something
- evaluate whether something
Teachers evaluate each student's progress every term.
The committee will evaluate the proposals next week.
We need to evaluate whether the new system saves time.
verbtransitivemathematics
To calculate the value or amount of something, especially in mathematics.
Grammar: Takes an object: evaluate the expression.
Patterns
- evaluate an expression
Evaluate the expression when x equals three.
The program evaluates each formula in turn.
Word forms
| third person singular | evaluates |
|---|---|
| past tense | evaluated |
| past participle | evaluated |
| -ing form | evaluating |
Common combinations
- evaluate the evidence
- Judges must evaluate the evidence fairly.
- evaluate performance
- Managers evaluate performance once a year.
- carefully evaluate
- Carefully evaluate each option before deciding.
- evaluate the risks
- Investors evaluate the risks before buying.
Synonyms and how they differ
- assess
- Is very close, but often stresses measuring size, level or quality, as in assessing damage.
- appraise
- Is formal and often means judging worth or value, such as property.
- judge
- Is more general and can be quick or personal, while evaluate suggests a careful method.
- review
- Means to examine something again or give an opinion about it.
Opposites
Word family
- evaluation noun
- a careful judgment of something
- evaluator noun
- a person who evaluates
- evaluative adjective
- involving judgment of quality
Commonly confused: evaluate or valuate?
evaluate vs valuate
Valuate is a rare variant; evaluate is the standard word.
Practice
Before buying the house, they asked an expert to ___ its condition.
Choose one answer.
Evaluate means judge carefully. Evacuate, elevate and evade are different words that do not fit judging a condition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “evaluate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.