 A praise and a prize from espressoenglish.net A praise is a verb. It means to evaluate, especially in an official way in which a grade will be given or the value of something determined. For example, the teachers will appraise the students' presentations. A car dealership appraises the value of used cars. Managers often appraise their employees once per year. Again, appraise means to evaluate, especially in some official capacity where a grade is given. The noun form is appraisal, meaning an evaluation. For example, please give me your honest appraisal of the book I've written. We need to conduct a thorough appraisal of the property before buying it. A thorough appraisal is a complete and detailed evaluation. A prize is also a verb. It means to inform or notify. You can appraise someone of some news. For example, if your colleague Gina wasn't at the meeting, you will need to apprise her of the decisions made in the meeting. Here are some other common structures with a prize. You can say that someone is, was, or has been apprised, or talk about keeping someone apprised. For example, the president has been apprised of the latest developments in the crisis. The students were apprised of the increase in tuition. Please keep me apprised of this situation. Don't say, keep me appraised. This was a free sample from the new e-book, 600 Plus Confusing English Words Explained, available at espressoenglish.net. In this e-book, you'll learn more words that both English learners and native English speakers confuse.