sentiment

[ sen-tuh-muhnt ]

See synonyms for: sentiment sentiments on Thesaurus.com

noun

an attitude toward something; regard; opinion.
a mental feeling; emotion: a sentiment of pity.

refined or tender emotion; manifestation of the higher or more refined feelings.
exhibition or manifestation of feeling or sensibility, or appeal to the tender emotions, in literature, art, or music.
a thought influenced by or proceeding from feeling or emotion.
the thought or feeling intended to be conveyed by words, acts, or gestures as distinguished from the words, acts, or gestures themselves.

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

synonym study For sentiment

1. See opinion. 3. 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 words from sentiment

sen·ti·ment·less, adjective

Words that may be confused with sentiment

sentiment , sentimentality (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words Nearby sentiment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sentiment in a sentence

This stands in contrast to the sentiments of older Florida voters at around this time four years ago.
Why Trump Might Be Scaring Off Older Voters | Clare Malone (clare.malone@fivethirtyeight.com) | September 10, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
Other agency executives shared the sentiment that the upfront may have changed this year but only incrementally, as has been the case for the past several years.
‘There wasn’t a huge shift’: TV upfront market did not undergo expected overhaul this year | Tim Peterson | September 9, 2020 | Digiday
In fact, in this space on Thursday morning I wrote about how the so-called “greed sentiment” was beginning to shift.
Why last week’s great tech sell-off should make investors wary | Bernhard Warner | September 8, 2020 | Fortune
While the results of the survey haven’t exactly shifted Volpi’s thesis on investing in consumer-based startups, it does show that sentiment is shifting in favor of greater regulation.
Majority of tech employees and potential founders say big tech needs more regulation | Lucinda Shen | September 4, 2020 | Fortune
We can’t know what other events will unfold between now and November, but we can say that the violence in the wake of Blake’s shooting has seemed to affect public sentiment.
Trump’s Law And Order Message Isn’t Resonating With Most Americans | Geoffrey Skelley (geoffrey.skelley@abc.com) | September 4, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight

Throughout the progressive movement, this sentiment is echoed almost everywhere.
Why the Left Loves Warren, But Won’t Swoon for Sanders | David Freedlander | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Now, the key is to hold on to that sentiment and use the popular support as leverage.
Eric Garner Protesters Have a Direct Line to City Hall | Jacob Siegel | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There was a collective gasp at both the four-letter word and the bitter sentiment it carried.
How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and Transformed America | David Yaffe, Scott Saul | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
So to hear such fervent anti-Ortega sentiment from previously devoted campesinos and compañeros is unprecedented.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution | Nina Lakhani | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Kaine picked up the former sentiment, arguing against the notion that America is on decline.
Politics End In Halifax As Democratic and GOP Senators Seek Common Ground on National Security | Tim Mak | November 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
With which magnanimous sentiment he turned on his clumsy heel, and entered his apartment again.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Aunt Ri gazed at her with a sentiment as near to veneration as her dry, humorous, practical nature was capable of feeling.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
One seldom gets the real sentiment and beauty of a place in approaching it by railway.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car | Thomas D. Murphy
Her black eyes looked like wells of sentiment, and her body a mould for a new race of men.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
But when he was awake to it, the sentiment which both blinds and invigorates old men took possession of him.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange Kielland

British Dictionary definitions for sentiment

sentiment

/ (ˈsɛntɪmənt) /

noun

susceptibility to tender, delicate, or romantic emotion: she has too much sentiment to be successful
(often plural) a thought, opinion, or attitude

exaggerated, overindulged, or mawkish feeling or emotion
an expression of response to deep feeling, esp in art or literature
a feeling, emotion, or awareness: a sentiment of pity
a mental attitude modified or determined by feeling: there is a strong revolutionary sentiment in his country
a feeling conveyed, or intended to be conveyed, in words

Origin of sentiment

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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