appraisalvsappraisalsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“appraisal” and “appraisals” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,404
“appraisal” frequency rank
#36,866
“appraisals” frequency rank
53270
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature appraisal appraisals
Definition The act or process of developing an opinion of value. plural of appraisal

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set appraisal and appraisals apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
appraisal
10 ch
appraisals

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. appraisal (/əˈpɹeɪzəl/) and appraisals (/əˈpɹeɪzəlz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “appraisal” sits inside “appraisals”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

appraisal is recorded at frequency rank #16,404, classified as anoun, pronounced /əˈpɹeɪzəl/. appraisals is at rank #36,866, tagged as anoun, pronounced /əˈpɹeɪzəlz/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 53270, this pair ranks #150,344 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of appraisal vs appraisals

Shared letters: ailprs. Private to "appraisal": -. Private to "appraisals": -.

"appraisal" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC  ·  "appraisals" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • appraisalapparisal · appraiasl · appraisall · appraisla · appraissal · apprasial · appriasal · apprraisal
  • appraisalsapparisals · appraiasls · appraisalls · appraisalss · appraisasl · appraislas · appraissals · apprasials

Frequency comparison

appraisal#16,404
appraisals#36,866

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "appraisal" and "appraisals" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/əˈpɹeɪzəl/ versus /əˈpɹeɪzəlz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "appraisal" or "appraisals"?
"appraisal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,404 in our English list, against #36,866 for "appraisals". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering appraisal vs appraisals

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “appraisal” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list