sentiment

[sen-tuh-muhnt]

noun

1. an attitude toward something; regard; opinion.

2. a mental feeling; emotion.

   a sentiment of pity.

3. refined or tender emotion; manifestation of the higher or more refined feelings.

4. exhibition or manifestation of feeling or sensibility, or appeal to the tender emotions, in literature, art, or music.

5. a thought influenced by or proceeding from feeling or emotion.

6. the thought or feeling intended to be conveyed by words, acts, or gestures as distinguished from the words, acts, or gestures themselves.

sentiment

/ ˈsɛntɪmənt /

noun

1. susceptibility to tender, delicate, or romantic emotion

   she has too much sentiment to be successful

2. (often plural) a thought, opinion, or attitude

3. exaggerated, overindulged, or mawkish feeling or emotion

4. an expression of response to deep feeling, esp in art or literature

5. a feeling, emotion, or awareness

   a sentiment of pity

6. a mental attitude modified or determined by feeling

   there is a strong revolutionary sentiment in his country

7. a feeling conveyed, or intended to be conveyed, in words

Other Word Forms

• sentimentless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentiment¹

First recorded in 1325–75; from Medieval Latin sentīmentum, equivalent to Latin sentī(re) “to feel” + -mentum -ment; replacing Middle English sentement, from Old French, from Medieval Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentiment¹

C17: from Medieval Latin sentīmentum, from Latin sentīre to feel

Synonym Study

See opinion. Sentiment, sentimentality are terms for sensitiveness to emotional feelings. Sentiment is a sincere and refined sensibility, a tendency to be influenced by emotion rather than reason or fact: to appeal to sentiment. Sentimentality implies affected, excessive, sometimes mawkish sentiment: weak sentimentality.

Example Sentences

Following consumer sentiment, Audi’s product designers intend to restore physical controls, rotary selectors, switches, even gauges, to their central place in the driver’s experience.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

AI bubble fears may recede but valuations are still stretched and risk sentiment remains fragile.

Read more on Barron's

Consumer sentiment over the Thanksgiving holiday, and the willingness to spend and travel even amid the sustained weakness in the labor market, will provide a crucial reading of the strength of the domestic economy.

Read more on Barron's

Those are “lower in most cases than at the start of the year,” he added, with the notable exception of Alphabet, which has been the beneficiary of a dramatic shift in investor sentiment.

Read more on MarketWatch

Last word from the bank — they expect 2026 to be “anything but dull,” as rapid AI investment and adoption continue to dominate market sentiment.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• attitude 
• bias 
• feeling 
• idea 
• opinion 
• passion 
• position 
• tendency 
• thought 
• view 

When To Use

What are other ways to say sentiment?

A sentiment is a mental feeling or tender emotion, or a thought proceeding from feeling or emotion. How is it different from feeling, emotion, and passion? Find out on Thesaurus.com.