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:
“The Vietnamese and Chinese factories are much more efficient. From my personal opinion, culturally, they’re very hungry,” Krinsky said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
It has divided opinion among readers, and was described as "bleak but brilliant" and "dreamlike and baffling" by one critic.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
She was still a largely unknown entity early on in the race, with 51% of likely voters in a March poll saying they didn’t know enough about Raman to form an opinion of her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2026
But he said Israel would need to rely more on cheaper artillery or non-sophisticated bombs, further increasing risks of civilian casualties that have enraged international opinion.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
He doesn’t care about my opinion, or anything important to me.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
A summary of opinions from the BOJ’s latest meeting showed that policymakers remain alert to upside inflation risks and back further rate increases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
Miller would also present his views as requests from the president -- but was cautious about expressing his opinions in front of Trump himself, and was careful not to leave a paper trail, they reported.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
As it turns out, I have surprisingly strong opinions about groceries.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
The survey - officially called the Voter Poll - asks tens of thousands of the American electorate their opinions and motivations, and providing a breakdown by age, gender, education and other demographics.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
She and Chicken had different opinions on this topic.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
