TOEIC Link Part 5: deprecate versus depreciate

Deprecate and depreciate both carry a sense of going down, which is exactly why Part 5 can swap one for the other. Deprecate means to express disapproval of — it is about opinion. Depreciate means to fall in value — it is about worth, especially money and assets. Finance and management passages use both ideas, so the blank often sits where only one of them makes sense. For another pair where two verbs share a feel but split on meaning, see continual versus continuous.

The core rule: disapproval versus value

• deprecate (verb) = to express disapproval of, to belittle. The report deprecates the use of outdated software. / She deprecated the proposal as too risky.
• depreciate (verb) = to decline in value, or to lower the recorded value of an asset. New vehicles depreciate quickly. / The accountant depreciates the equipment over five years.

The clue is the money idea. Depreciate has the extra -i- and is the accounting word — it pairs with assets, currency, and equipment losing worth. Deprecate is the opinion word — it pairs with criticism and disapproval. If the blank is about value dropping, use depreciate; if it is about disapproving, use deprecate.

Why Part 5 likes this pair

The two words attach to different objects, so the surrounding words tell you which one fits — if you read for meaning.

Most office machinery begins to __ the moment it is put into service.

The subject is equipment losing worth, so depreciate is required.

Senior managers openly __ any plan that skips the review stage.

Here the object is a plan being disapproved of, so deprecate fits.

Spotting the clue in the structure

Ask what is going down:

• If a value or price is falling — currency, an asset, machinery, a car → choose depreciate.
• If an opinion is being lowered — someone criticizing, belittling, or warning against something → choose deprecate.

A reliable test: if you can replace the blank with lose value, you need depreciate. If you can replace it with disapprove of, you need deprecate. For another pair where checking the object of the verb decides the answer, see personal versus personnel.

Quick self-check

1. The board members __ the idea of cutting the training budget. (deprecate — to disapprove)
2. Imported goods __ in value when the local currency strengthens. (depreciate — to fall in value)

Takeaway

If the blank is about something losing worth, you need depreciate, the accounting verb with the extra -i-. If the blank is about disapproving of an idea or action, you need deprecate. Ask whether value or opinion is going down, swap in lose value or disapprove of to confirm, and the shared downward feel stops being a trap.