opinion
Americannoun
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opinions
plural
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a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
- Synonyms:
- impression, idea, notion, persuasion
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a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
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the formal expression of a professional judgment.
to ask for a second medical opinion.
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Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.
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a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc..
to forfeit someone's good opinion.
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Archaic. a favorable estimate; esteem.
I haven't much of an opinion of him.
noun
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judgment or belief not founded on certainty or proof
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the prevailing or popular feeling or view
public opinion
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evaluation, impression, or estimation of the value or worth of a person or thing
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an evaluation or judgment given by an expert
a medical opinion
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the advice given by a barrister or counsel on a case submitted to him or her for a view on the legal points involved
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a point open to question
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to believe that
Synonym Usage
Opinion, sentiment, view are terms for one's conclusion about something. An opinion is a belief or judgment that falls short of absolute conviction, certainty, or positive knowledge; it is a conclusion that certain facts, ideas, etc., are probably true or likely to prove so: political opinions; an opinion about art; In my opinion this is true. Sentiment (usually pl. ) refers to a rather fixed conviction, usually based on feeling or emotion rather than reasoning: These are my sentiments. View is an estimate of something, an intellectual judgment, a critical survey based on a mental examination, particularly of a public matter: views on governmental planning.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of opinion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin opīniōn- (stem of opīniō ), derivative of opīnārī “to think, deem”
Explanation
An opinion is a belief or attitude about something that isn't necessarily based on facts. It's your opinion that dogs make better pets than cats, but your sister thinks that cats are superior. Too bad your parents' opinion is that pets are too expensive. You may have an opinion about a celebrity that I don't share. There's no way to prove who's right and who's wrong. Those are our thoughts about her, and that's the way it is. Ironically, when a judge decides a case, his or her ruling is referred to as an opinion. Even though what the judge says will become a matter of law, it's still just their opinion, based on what was presented by the two sides in a trial.
Vocabulary lists containing opinion
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 61-70
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
My opinion is very useful to many agendas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Smith Debnam, a law firm with offices in North and South Carolina, has an opinion on such a predicament.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
The case has highlighted differences of opinion on the trial in Kyiv and Berlin.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Bach’s pieces are “lacking in memorable melodies,” he writes—a fine opinion but a colorless thought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
What is your personal opinion on bear hugs?
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
I don’t think it’s acceptable to seek out only the opinions that match your own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
His opinions on the AI sector, and the recent correction in its infrastructure build-out plays, were emphatic: A commodity trade within the AI trade “is done.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
You can see how Mr. Trump, in contrast to earlier presidents, came to his opinions on nationalism and tariffs, and his skepticism of allies and trading partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
In a report earlier this year, a parliamentary committee noted competing opinions on the issue but recommended Canada "indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness" from assisted dying.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Their personal opinions ruled us—there seemed to be no authority in charge to direct them as to what was fair.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
