I. ˈestəˌmā]t sometimes -_mə̇]; usu ]d.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin aestimatus, past participle of aestimare to value, estimate
transitive verb
1. archaic
a. : to consider or judge to be of a particular character or nature
b. : to consider or judge to be of value
a man to estimate and welcome nobleness — George Meredith
2. : to make an estimate of: as
a. : to judge the value, worth, or significance of ; especially : to arrive at (a value judgment that is often valid but incomplete, approximate, or tentative)
the egregious error of supposing that the dramatic merit of a dramatic work could be estimated without reference to its poetic merit — T.S.Eliot
b. : to fix sometimes accurately the size, extent, magnitude, or nature of
a method of estimating deuterium
small and manageable numbers of birds must be counted precisely; huge flocks can only be estimated — Time
a prehistoric skeleton that is estimated by some anthropologists to be at least 20,000 years old — American Guide Series: Minnesota
estimating the social importance of this movement — C.D.Lewis
c.
(1) : to arrive at an often accurate but usually only approximate statement of the cost of (a job to be done)
(2) : to arrive at a sometimes only tentative price for which one is willing to undertake (a job to be done)
3. : judge , conclude
he checked the chimneys off one by one and estimated that the fire was in the kitchen — Hugh MacLennan
intransitive verb
: to make an estimate
Synonyms:
value , evaluate , rate , assay , assess , appraise : estimate is often used with judgments, either considered or casual, which are not entirely definitive
we have first to estimate their effects upon complicated social conditions (largely a matter of guesswork) — John Dewey
let us dispassionately consider the Codex Sinaiticus and try to estimate its position — Aldous Huxley
value may suggest definite but quick and temporary judgments
one may pronounce a play fine or ‘rotten’. If one term such direct characterization valuing, then criticism is not valuing — John Dewey
It may on the other hand suggest more careful judgment
you cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison, among the dead. I mean this as a principle of aesthetic … criticism — T.S.Eliot
value is used more often than the accompanying words in quick or rash hyperboles
who values his own honor not a straw — Robert Browning
evaluate has less connotational effect than others in this group. It is often used in situations in which criteria or principles of judgment are specified as new or important
the current debate should be evaluated, not in terms of the excess profits tax we had during the last war, but in terms rather of an improved excess profits tax — L.G.Walinsky
conventional ethical codes are assumed to be invalid or at least impractical for evaluating life as it is — C.C.Walcutt
rate indicates placing in a certain class, status, or bracket, perhaps without much serious reflection
it is a curious thing this friend of yours you rate so monstrous high has not come nigh you in your sore affliction — Edna S. V. Millay
as copper is rated very much above its real value, so silver is rated somewhat below it — Adam Smith
assay stresses careful analysis before judgment, as with the completeness of scientific methods
alienation in the modern world is a major theme. In his later novels Greene has assayed it with acute analysis and philosophical breadth — J.M.Brinnin
assess likewise stresses careful analysis, as though according to better economic principles
long before he arrived in the capital he had cast up his accounts with himself and made his decision. Soberly he assessed the elements of his power — John Buchan
More than others in this group, appraise may suggest expert and definitive judgment on difficult or subtle matters
the cool, judicial regard, the scholarly eye of this trained historian resting on and appraising the turmoil and hysteria that marked the downfall of Adolf Hitler — Rosemary Benét
this difficulty of appraising literature absolutely — A.T.Quiller-Couch
Synonym: see in addition calculate .
II. ˈestəmə̇]t sometimes -ˌmā]; usu ]d.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin aestimatus, from aestimatus, past participle of aestimare to value
1.
a. : the act of appraising or valuing : valuation , calculation
the influence of their work upon the health and well-being of millions of Canadians is beyond estimate — F.C.James
b. obsolete : appraised value
c. obsolete : esteem , repute
2. : an evaluation or judgment (as to the nature, character, or quality of a thing)
an estimate of a man
by general estimate at the period, the flour ground at the Brandywine Mills possessed an uncommon softness and whiteness — American Guide Series: Delaware
in any estimate of human life there are two factors, both of which are extremely difficult to weigh — David Fairchild
whether it is a benefit at all is a matter of forecast and estimate — O.W.Holmes †1935
a generous estimate of one of the most intriguing and stimulating characters in modern fiction — Harrison Smith
: estimation
found that he had dropped somewhat in the estimate of the firm
powerfully influenced an innocent public's estimate of an unfortunate woman — Ruth P. Randall
in the last eight lines of the first stanza Keats makes one estimate of how this song could have thus affected him — C.S.Kilby
3.
a. : a judgment made from usually mathematical calculation especially from incomplete data : a rough or approximate calculation (as of the number, amount, or size of anything)
famous for a map of the inhabited earth and for reasonable estimates of the heights of mountains — Benjamin Farrington
production figures for planes, tanks, and shipping actually exceeded the estimates projected by the program — Current Biography
some sort of estimate of the possible future developments — A.G.N.Flew
impossible to give a precise estimate of the duration of these various Pleistocene ages — W.H.Dowdeswell
b. : a statement of the often approximate amount for which certain work will be done by one who undertakes it
III. noun
: a numerical value obtained from a statistical sample and assigned to a population parameter