assess

[ uh-ses ]
/ əˈsɛs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR assess ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to estimate officially the value of (property, income, etc.) as a basis for taxation.
to fix or determine the amount of (damages, a tax, a fine, etc.): The hurricane damage was assessed at six million dollars.
to impose a tax or other charge on.
to estimate or judge the value, character, etc., of; evaluate: to assess one's efforts.

Origin of assess

1400–50; late Middle English assessen < Medieval Latin assessāre to assess a tax, derivative of Latin assēssus seated beside (a judge) (past participle of assidēre), equivalent to as- as- + sed- (stem of sedēre to sit1) + -tus past participle suffix

historical usage of assess

Assess comes from Middle English assessen, from Old French assesser, from Late Latin assessāre “to fix a tax on.” Assessāre is a Late Latin frequentative verb derived from assess-, the inflectional stem of the past participle assessus, from the Latin verb assidēre “to sit next to or by (as an assistant, attendant, or aide),” formed from the preposition and prefix ad, ad-, here having the sense “nearness, presence at,” and -sidēre, a combining form of the verb sedēre “to sit, be seated.”
In Proto-Indo-European, two dental consonants (such as d + d, d + t, t + t, etc.) could not appear together. In the Italic languages (Latin, Oscan, Umbrian) and Germanic, the two dental consonants developed into -ss- ; thus the original Latin past participle of sedēre , sedtus (originally an adjective suffix, typically forming past participles in Latin) regularly became sessus, the base for the Late Latin verb assessāre.

OTHER WORDS FROM assess

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH assess

access assess excess accessible assessable

Words nearby assess

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VOCAB BUILDER

What does reassess mean?

To reassess is to reevaluate. When you reassess a situation, you analyze it again to see if you come to the same conclusion about it. Reassessing is typically done because something about the situation has changed.

Assess can have several meanings but most generally means to evaluate or otherwise determine the significance of something. Both assess and reaissess can be used more specifically in the context of finance to refer to evaluating or reevaluating the value of something, especially property or income for the purpose of taxation.

The noun form of reassess is reassessment.

Example: For now, that’s the plan, but if something goes wrong, we’ll need to reassess our options.

Where does reassess come from?

The first records of reassess come from around the 1700s. Assess is recorded earlier, in the 1400s, and comes from the Medieval Latin assessāre, meaning “to assess a tax.” It derives from the Latin assēssus, meaning “seated beside (a judge).”

Since its earliest use in English, assess has been used to refer to determining a thing’s value for the purposes of taxation, such as how much property you have, how much land you own, or how much your house is worth. In this sense, the word assess is synonymous with appraise. Sometimes, when the value of something changes, it needs to be reassessed.

More generally, you reassess something by carefully considering it again in order to determine what you currently think about it, especially when you have new information. For example, a college student might reassess their choice of major if they become interested in a different field, or a doctor might reassess a patient if their symptoms change. In this sense, the closest synonyms are reevaluate and reconsider.

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What are some other forms related to reassess?

What are some synonyms for reassess?

What are some words that share a root or word element with reassess? 

What are some words that often get used in discussing reassess?

How is reassess used in real life?

Reassess is commonly used in a general way to mean “reevaluate.” In a financial context, it refers to a formal process of redetermining value.

 

 

Try using reassess!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym for reassess?

A. reevaluate
B. reconsider
C. recognize
D. reexamine

Words related to reassess

reevaluate, reexamine, amend, rethink, review, revise, reconsider, analyze, rearrange, rework, rehash, retrace, emend, polish, correct, remember, debrief, recall, recollect, revisit

Example sentences from the Web for reassess

British Dictionary definitions for reassess (1 of 2)

reassess
/ (ˌriːəˈsɛs) /

verb (tr)

to assess (something) again; re-evaluate

British Dictionary definitions for reassess (2 of 2)

assess
/ (əˈsɛs) /

verb (tr)

to judge the worth, importance, etc, of; evaluate
(foll by at) to estimate the value of (income, property, etc) for taxation purposes the estate was assessed at three thousand pounds
to determine the amount of (a fine, tax, damages, etc)
to impose a tax, fine, etc, on (a person or property)

Derived forms of assess

assessable, adjective

Word Origin for assess

C15: from Old French assesser, from Latin assidēre to sit beside, from sedēre to sit