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TOEIC Link Part 5 — Appraise vs. Apprise: Assess a Value vs. Inform Someone

Appraise and apprise differ by a single vowel yet mean two unrelated things: to judge the worth of something versus to notify someone. Both show up constantly in business English — performance reviews, asset valuations, status updates — which is exactly why TOEIC Link Part 5 uses them as a spelling-and-sound distractor. This guide separates them with a one-line rule, workplace examples, the fixed phrase "apprise someone of," and a memory hook you can use under time pressure.

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TOEIC Link Part 5 — Appraise vs. Apprise: Assess a Value vs. Inform Someone

Appraise and apprise are separated by a single vowel, yet they name two completely different actions. To appraise something is to judge its worth, quality, or value. To apprise someone is to inform or notify them of something. They share no meaning — the resemblance is a coincidence of spelling and sound — which is exactly what makes them a clean TOEIC Link Part 5 distractor.

Because the words differ only by one letter and both belong to formal workplace English, this is a precision trap in the same family as assure versus ensure versus insure, where near-identical verbs with distinct meanings get swapped to catch a rushed reader.

The one-line rule

APPRAISE = to judge the value or quality of something. APPRISE = to inform or notify someone.

A quick swap test: if the sentence is about estimating worth, rating performance, or evaluating quality, the verb is appraise. If it is about giving someone information, the verb is apprise.

  • Appraise (to assess worth) — to estimate the value, quality, or significance of something.
    • "A licensed expert will appraise the property before the sale."
    • "Managers appraise each employee's performance every quarter."
  • Apprise (to inform) — to tell someone about something, usually formally.
    • "Please apprise the board of any changes to the schedule."
    • "We were apprised of the delay as soon as it happened."

The fixed phrase that anchors the pair

The most common context on the test is the collocation "apprise someone of something." This preposition pattern only ever takes apprise — never appraise:

  • "The team apprised the client of the revised timeline." (informed the client about)
  • "Keep me apprised of your progress." (keep me informed about)
  • "He failed to apprise us of the risk." (failed to inform us about)

If a sentence uses the frame "____ someone of something," the answer is always apprise. Appraise does not take a person plus of in this way — you appraise a thing (a house, a skill, a situation), not a person about a fact.

How TOEIC Link tests it

Part 5 typically frames a business sentence where only one reading fits:

The assistant will ____ the manager of the meeting's new start time. (A) appraise (B) apprise

The frame is "____ the manager of," and the meaning is inform, so the answer is apprise. Appraise cannot take "someone of something."

The mirror item points to valuation:

An independent surveyor was hired to ____ the value of the warehouse. (A) apprise (B) appraise

Here the sentence is about estimating worth, so the answer is appraise.

A memory hook

Anchor each word to a related noun you already know:

  • Appraise → think of an appraisal — the formal report that states what something is worth. If you can replace the idea with "put a value on it," the word is appraise.
  • Apprise → think of being apprised = kept in the loop. The extra i links to "inform." If you can replace the idea with "let them know," the word is apprise.

Appraisal points to appraise; inform points to apprise. Letting the related word do the disambiguating is the same tactic that separates precedent versus president: trust the anchor, not the surface resemblance.

Quick self-check

Pick the right word (answers below):

  1. The insurer sent an agent to ____ the damage after the storm.
  2. Could you ____ the director of the budget shortfall?
  3. Analysts were asked to ____ the company's market position.
  4. We will ____ all staff of the new policy by email.

Answers: 1. appraise (assess worth) 2. apprise (inform of) 3. appraise (evaluate) 4. apprise (inform of).

The one thing to remember

To judge what something is worth is to appraise it; to tell someone about something is to apprise them. When the sentence estimates value, quality, or performance, choose appraise; when it uses the frame "____ someone of something," choose apprise. On Part 5, decide whether the blank is about valuing a thing or informing a person, and the spelling picks itself.

More look-alike pairs with unrelated meanings are collected in the commonly confused word pairs master index.