sentiment

American  

[sen-tuh-muhnt] / ˈsɛn tə mənt /

noun

• sentiments
  plural

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.

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sentiment British  

/ 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

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Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sentimentless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sentiments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sentiment

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

Explanation

Your opinion that most comedies are terrible and that you'd rather watch any other kind of movie could be described as your sentiment, or your attitude, about films. Sentiment means a view or opinion, but it can also mean an emotion. Maybe you prefer tragic movies because you enjoy the sentiment of sadness. This meaning of sentiment is taken to an extreme in yet another version of the word, meaning something like "overdone, exaggerated feelings, especially of sadness or nostalgia." An overly soppy tragedy is a good example of this kind of sentiment; it's the kind of film that might make you cringe instead of cry.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sentiment sentiments

The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer sentiment reading for August.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

"This permanent feeling of anxiety is with everyone right now. You feel that something is wrong. Anxiety is the main sentiment," says Kolesnikov.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Silenskyte said it’s important to remember that spotting a market bottom is tough and buying opportunities often emerge earlier when sentiment is low and prices have had a reset, but fundamentals point toward recovery.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

And despite all of the negative sentiment surrounding Iamaleava and his time at Tennessee, it was with the Volunteers when he learned how to effectively lead and cultivate camaraderie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Or they can be in negative sentiment override, so that even a relatively neutral thing that a partner says gets perceived as negative.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

A Northwestern Mutual study in the spring echoed these sentiments as well.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

These sentiments are reflected by Joan, who desperately wants more for her daughter than she’s been able to provide on her own teacher’s salary.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

He reiterated similar sentiments in congressional hearings before the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

However, Gold's sentiments were not shared by Kretinsky – whose spokesperson issued a statement responding to news of the imminent deal with Staveley's consortium.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

The one ever scrutinizing into the public opinion, and ready to follow where he could not lead it; the other insulting it by the most adverse sentiments and pursuits.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

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