Meaning of the word opinion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts, which are true statements.

Definition[edit]

A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal with facts which are sought to be disputed by the logical fallacy that one is entitled to their opinions.

Distinguishing fact from opinion is that facts are verifiable, i.e. can be agreed to by the consensus of experts. An example is: «United States of America was involved in the Vietnam War,» versus «United States of America was right to get involved in the Vietnam War». An opinion may be supported by facts and principles, in which case it becomes an argument.

Different people may draw opposing conclusions (opinions) even if they agree on the same set of facts. Opinions rarely change without new arguments being presented. It can be reasoned that one opinion is better supported by the facts than another, by analyzing the supporting arguments.^[1]

In casual use, the term opinion may be the result of a person’s perspective, understanding, particular feelings, beliefs, and desires.

Though not hard fact, collective opinions or professional opinions are defined as meeting a higher standard to substantiate the opinion.

Collective and professional opinions[edit]

Public opinion[edit]

In contemporary usage, public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by a population (e.g., a city, state, or country), while consumer opinion is the similar aggregate collected as part of marketing research (e.g., opinions of users of a particular product or service). Typically, because the process of gathering opinions from all individuals is difficult, expensive, or impossible to obtain, public opinion (or consumer opinion) is estimated using survey sampling (e.g., with a representative sample of a population).

Group opinion[edit]

In some social sciences, especially political science and psychology, group opinion refers to the aggregation of opinions collected from a group of subjects, such as members of a jury, legislature, committee, or other collective decision-making body. In these situations, researchers are often interested in questions related to social choice, conformity, and group polarization.

Scientific opinion[edit]

«Scientific opinion» may reflect opinions on scientific concerns as articulated by one or more scientists, published in scholarly journals or respected textbooks, both of which entail peer-review and rigorous professional editing. It may also refer to opinions published by professional, academic, or governmental organizations about scientific findings and their possible implications.

A related—but not identical—term, scientific consensus, is the prevailing view on a scientific topic within the scientific community, such as the scientific opinion on climate change.

Scientific opinion(s) can be «partial, temporally contingent, conflicting, and uncertain»^[2] so that there may be no accepted consensus for a particular situation. In other circumstances, a particular scientific opinion may be at odds with consensus.^[2]

Scientific literacy, also called public understanding of science, is an educational goal^[3] concerned with providing the public with the necessary tools to benefit from scientific opinion.

Legal opinion[edit]

A «legal opinion» or «closing opinion» is a type of professional opinion, usually contained in a formal legal-opinion letter, given by an attorney to a client or a third party. Most legal opinions are given in connection with business transactions. The opinion expresses the attorney’s professional judgment regarding the legal aspect of the transaction. The opinion can be «clean» or «reasoned».^[4] A legal opinion is not a guarantee that a court will reach any particular result.^[5] However, a mistaken or incomplete legal opinion may be grounds for a professional malpractice claim against the attorney, pursuant to which the attorney may be required to pay the claimant damages incurred as a result of relying on the faulty opinion.

Judicial opinion[edit]

A «judicial opinion» or «opinion of the court» is an opinion of a judge or group of judges that accompanies and explains an order or ruling in a controversy before the court. A judicial opinion generally lays out the facts that the court recognized as being established, the legal principles the court is bound by, and the application of the relevant principles to the recognized facts. The goal is to demonstrate the rationale the court used in reaching its decision.^[6]

Reasoned opinion[edit]

As the second step of the European Union’s infringement procedure, the European Commission issues a «reasoned opinion» when it is concerned that a Member State has not implemented a Directive or other EU law. The reasoned opinion constitutes a formal request to the state concerned for implementing action to be taken, usually within a two month deadline.^[7] Also under EU law, a «reasoned opinion» may be issued by a Member State in relation to proposed EU legislation, if the Member State is concerned that the proposal infringes the EU’s subsidiarity principle. Article 6, Protocol 2 to the Treaty of Lisbon (2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009) allows Member States to issue a reasoned opinion within 8 weeks of their official notification of the draft legislation.^[8]

See also[edit]

• Doxa
• Epistemology
• Justified true belief
• Opinion poll
• Perspective (cognitive)
• Soapbox
• Speaker’s Corner
• Truthiness
• I’m entitled to my opinion
• Scientific evidence

Notes[edit]

External links[edit]

Last Updated:
12 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

What do we mean by opinion?

A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof: synonym: view. noun

A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert. noun

A judgment or estimation of the merit of a person or thing. noun

The prevailing view. noun

A court’s formal, usually written statement explaining its reasons for its decision in a case. noun

An attorney’s formal, usually written statement giving an assessment of how the law should be or is likely to be applied in a particular situation. noun

A piece of testimony that is not usually admissible when given by a layperson, as in contrast to an opinion given by an expert witness. noun

To think; opine.

A judgment formed or a conclusion reached; especially, a judgment formed on evidence that does not produce knowledge or certainty; one’s view of a matter; what one thinks, as distinguished from what one knows to be true. noun

Specifically — The estimate which one forms regarding persons or things with reference to their character, qualities, etc.: as, to have a poor opinion of a man’s honesty, or of the efficiency of some arrangement or contrivance; a poor opinion of one’s self. noun

Favorable judgment or estimate; estimation. noun

Judgment or persuasion, held more or less intelligently or firmly; conviction: often in the plural: as, one’s political opinions. noun

A judgment or view regarded as influenced more by sentiment or feeling than by reason; especially, views so held by many at once, collectively regarded as constituting a social force which tends to control the minds of men and determine their action. noun

Common notion or idea; belief. noun

Rumor; report. noun

A professional judgment on a case submitted for examination: as, a legal or medical opinion. noun

Standing in the eyes of one’s neighbors or society at large; reputation; especially, favorable reputation; credit. noun

Dogmatism; opinionativeness. noun

Synonyms Belief, Conviction, etc. (see persuasion); sentiment, notion, idea, view, impression. noun

A subjective belief, judgment or perspective that a person has formed about a topic, issue, person or thing.

The judgment or sentiment which the mind forms of persons or things; estimation.

Favorable estimation; hence, consideration; reputation; fame; public sentiment or esteem.

Obstinacy in holding to one’s belief or impression; opiniativeness; conceitedness.

The formal decision, or expression of views, of a judge, an umpire, a doctor, or other party officially called upon to consider and decide upon a matter or point submitted.

(European Union law) a judicial opinion delivered by an Advocate General to the European Court of Justice where he or she proposes a legal solution to the cases for which the court is responsible

A person’s thought/idea that may seem truthful in their eyes but may not be in someone else’s; a personal view Urban Dictionary

Contrary to what many people who add ‘definitions’ here think, Opinion is not the same as Definition. Opinion is the usually biased twisting of facts based on someone’s viewpoint. Definition is impartial fact. Urban Dictionary

Immunity to being told your wrong Urban Dictionary

Something that people think matters. Urban Dictionary

A belief held by a person that can be considered either true or false by other people Urban Dictionary

A thought that is based on one’s view of the world. All opinions are true to their holders, but are not always true to others. Despite the insistance of retarded UrbanDictionary users posting their opinions as definitions, no opinion is factual. Urban Dictionary

Something that ppl dont ask for on urban dictionary but at the same time, makes urban dictionary a lot more enjoyable. Urban Dictionary

Like an asshole everyone has got one Urban Dictionary

A persons own personal view or understanding which is entirely subjective. Often given to others unsolicited, and unwelcomed. Urban Dictionary

I dont care. your wrong anyway. Urban Dictionary

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	opinion — a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty; «my opinion differs from yours»; «I am not of your persuasion»; «what are your thoughts on Haiti?» persuasion, sentiment, thought, view idea — a personal view; «he has an idea that we don’t like him» judgment, judgement, mind — an opinion formed by judging something; «he was reluctant to make his judgment known»; «she changed her mind» belief — any cognitive content held as true eyes — opinion or judgment; «in the eyes of the law»; «I was wrong in her eyes» parti pris, preconceived idea, preconceived notion, preconceived opinion, preconception, prepossession — an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence; «he did not even try to confirm his preconceptions» pole — one of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions; «they are at opposite poles»; «they are poles apart» political sympathies, politics — the opinion you hold with respect to political questions
	2.	opinion — a message expressing a belief about something; the expression of a belief that is held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof; «his opinions appeared frequently on the editorial page» view subject matter, content, message, substance — what a communication that is about something is about adverse opinion — an opinion concerning financial statements (usually based on an audit by a CPA) that the statements as a whole do not present results fairly or are not in conformity with the generally accepted accounting practices of the United States speculation, supposition, surmisal, surmise, guess, conjecture, hypothesis — a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence side, position — an opinion that is held in opposition to another in an argument or dispute; «there are two sides to every question»
	3.	opinion — a belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people; «he asked for a poll of public opinion» popular opinion, public opinion, vox populi belief — any cognitive content held as true
	4.	opinion — the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision; «opinions are usually written by a single judge» judgement, legal opinion, judgment legal document, legal instrument, official document, instrument — (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right concurring opinion — an opinion that agrees with the court’s disposition of the case but is written to express a particular judge’s reasoning dissenting opinion — an opinion that disagrees with the court’s disposition of the case majority opinion — the opinion joined by a majority of the court (generally known simply as `the opinion’) fatwah — (Islam) a legal opinion or ruling issued by an Islamic scholar; «bin Laden issued three fatwahs calling upon Muslims to take up arms against the United States» dictum, obiter dictum — an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding law, jurisprudence — the collection of rules imposed by authority; «civilization presupposes respect for the law»; «the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order»
	5.	opinion — the reason for a court’s judgment (as opposed to the decision itself) ruling judicial decision, judgment, judgement — (law) the determination by a court of competent jurisdiction on matters submitted to it fatwa — a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority law, jurisprudence — the collection of rules imposed by authority; «civilization presupposes respect for the law»; «the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order»
	6.	opinion — a vague idea in which some confidence is placed; «his impression of her was favorable»; «what are your feelings about the crisis?»; «it strengthened my belief in his sincerity»; «I had a feeling that she was lying» impression, notion, belief, feeling idea, thought — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; «it was not a good idea»; «the thought never entered my mind» presence — the impression that something is present; «he felt the presence of an evil force» effect — an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived); «he just did it for effect» first blush — at the first glimpse or impression; «at first blush the idea possesses considerable intuitive appeal but on closer examination it fails» hunch, suspicion, intuition — an impression that something might be the case; «he had an intuition that something had gone wrong»

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

opinion

noun

1. belief, feeling, view, idea, theory, notion, conviction, point of view, sentiment, viewpoint, persuasion, conjecture Most who expressed an opinion spoke favourably of him.

be of the opinion believe, think, hold, consider, judge, suppose, maintain, imagine, guess (informal, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), reckon, conclude, be convinced, speculate, presume, conjecture, postulate, surmise, be under the impression Frank is of the opinion that there has been a cover-up.

in your opinion in your view, personally, to your mind, as you see it, (according) to your way of thinking He’s not making a very good job of it, in my opinion.

matter of opinion debatable point, debatable, open question, open to question, moot point, open for discussion, matter of judgment Whether or not it is a work of art is a matter of opinion.

Quotations
«There are as many opinions as there are people; each has his own correct way» [Terence Phormio]
«New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common» [John Locke Essay concerning Human Understanding]
«A man can brave opinion, a woman must submit to it» [Mme de Staël Delphine]
«Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct» [Jane Austen Mansfield Park]
«A study of the history of opinion is a necessary preliminary to the emancipation of the mind» [John Maynard Keynes The End of Laissez-Faire]
«They that approve a private opinion, call it opinion; but they that mislike it, heresy; and yet heresy signifies no more than private opinion» [Thomas Hobbes Leviathan]
«Opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making» [John Milton Areopagitica]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

opinion

noun

Something believed or accepted as true by a person:

The American Heritage® Roget’s Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

• Albanian: mendim (sq) m
• Arabic: رَأْي‎ m (raʔy), نَظَر‎ (ar) m (naẓar), فِكْر‎ (ar) m (fikr), عَقِيدَة‎ (ar) f (ʕaqīda)

  Hijazi Arabic: رَإِي‎ m (raʾi)

• Armenian: կարծիք (hy) (karcikʿ)
• Assamese: please add this translation if you can
• Asturian: opinión (ast) f
• Azerbaijani: fikir (az), rəy (az), nəzər (az)
• Bashkir: фекер (feker), уй (uy)
• Basque: iritzi
• Belarusian: зда́нне n (zdánnje), ду́мка (be) f (dúmka), пагля́д m (pahljád), по́гляд m (póhljad)
• Bengali: অভিমতি (obhimoti), নজর (nojor)
• Bulgarian: мне́ние (bg) n (mnénie), въ́зглед (bg) m (vǎ́zgled), схва́щане (bg) n (shváštane)
• Burmese: ဆန္ဒ (my) (hcanda.), အထင် (my) (a.htang)
• Buryat: һанал (hanal)
• Catalan: opinió (ca) f, parer (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 意見／意见 (ji³ gin³), 睇法 (tai² faat³)

  Dungan: йиҗян (yiži͡an)

  Mandarin: 意見／意见 (zh) (yìjiàn), 看法 (zh) (kànfǎ), 見解／见解 (zh) (jiànjiě)

  Min Nan: 意見／意见 (zh-min-nan) (ì-kiàn)

• Czech: názor (cs) m, posudek (cs) m
• Danish: mening c
• Dutch: mening (nl) f, opinie (nl) f, visie (nl) f, zienswijze (nl) f, gedachte (nl) f
• Esperanto: opinio
• Estonian: arvamus (et)
• Finnish: mielipide (fi), näkemys (fi), mieli (fi)
• French: avis (fr) m, opinion (fr) f
• Friulian: parè
• Galician: opinión (gl) f
• Georgian: აზრი (ka) (azri), მოსაზრება (mosazreba), შეხედულება (šexeduleba)
• German: Meinung (de) f, Ansicht (de) f, Anschauung (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐍄𐍉𐌽𐍃 f (mitōns)
• Greek: γνώμη (el) f (gnómi), άποψη (el) f (ápopsi)

  Ancient: γνώμη f (gnṓmē)

• Gujarati: please add this translation if you can
• Hebrew: דֵעָה‎ (he) f (de’á)
• Hindi: विचार (hi) m (vicār), राय (hi) f (rāy), ख़याल m (xayāl), अभिमत (hi) (abhimat), नज़र m (nazar)
• Hungarian: vélemény (hu), nézet (hu), szakvélemény (hu)
• Icelandic: álit
• Ido: opiniono (io)
• Indonesian: opini (id) pendapat (id)
• Irish: tuairim (ga), meas m, barúil (ga) f
• Italian: opinione (it) f, concetto (it) m, parere (it), giudizio (it) m
• Japanese: 意見 (ja) (いけん, iken), 見解 (ja) (けんかい, kenkai)
• Kannada: please add this translation if you can
• Kazakh: пікір (kk) (pıkır), ой (kk) (oi)
• Khmer: យោបល់ (km) (yoobɑl), មតិ (km) (mĕəʼteʼ), គំនិត (km) (kumnɨt)
• Korean: 의견(意見) (ko) (uigyeon), 견해(見解) (ko) (gyeonhae)
• Kyrgyz: пикир (ky) (pikir), ой (ky) (oy)
• Lao: ຄວາມເຫັນ (khuām hen), ທັດສະນະ (that sa na), ສຽງ (lo) (sīang)
• Latgalian: redzīņs m
• Latin: ōpīniō f, sententia f, iudicium (la) n
• Latvian: doma f
• Lithuanian: nuomonė (lt) f
• Luxembourgish: Meenung (lb) f, Avis (lb) m, Usiicht f
• Macedonian: мислење n (mislenje), мнение n (mnenie)
• Malay: pendapat (ms)
• Malayalam: അഭിപ്രായം (ml) (abhiprāyaṃ)
• Maltese: fehma f, opinjoni f
• Mingrelian: არზი (arzi)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: санал (mn) (sanal)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mening (no) m or f, synspunkt (no) n

• Occitan: opinion (oc) f
• Old English: wēna m
• Ottoman Turkish: بیلك‎ (bilek), آرا‎ (ara)
• Persian: نظر‎ (fa) (nazar), عقیده‎ (fa) (‘aqide), رأی‎ (fa) (ra’y), فکر‎ (fa) (fekr)
• Polish: opinia (pl) f, zdanie (pl) n, pogląd (pl) m
• Portuguese: opinião (pt) f
• Punjabi: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: părere (ro) f, opinie (ro) f
• Russian: мне́ние (ru) n (mnénije), взгляд (ru) m (vzgljad), воззре́ние (ru) n (vozzrénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: barail f, beachd m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ми̏шље̄ње n, мне́ње n, на́зор m

  Roman: mȉšljēnje (sh) n, mnénje n, názor (sh) m

• Slovak: názor m
• Slovene: mnenje n
• Spanish: opinión (es) f, parecer (es) m, juicio (es) m, apreciación (es) f, concepto (es) m, consideración (es) f, sentencia (es) f
• Swahili: maoni (sw)
• Swedish: mening (sv) c, uppfattning (sv) c, omdöme (sv) n, tycke (sv) n, åsikt (sv) c
• Tagalog: opinyon (tl)
• Tajik: фикр (tg) (fikr), мулоҳиза (mulohiza), андеша (andeša), назар (tg) (nazar), ақида (aqida), рой (roy), раъй (raʾy)
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Tatar: фикер (tt) (fiker), уй (tt) (uy)
• Telugu: అభిప్రయము (abhiprayamu)
• Thai: ความเห็น (th) (kwaam-hěn), เสียง (th) (sǐiang)
• Tibetan: བསམ་ཚུལ (bsam tshul)
• Tok Pisin: tingting
• Turkish: görüş (tr), fikir (tr)
• Turkmen: pikir
• Ukrainian: ду́мка (uk) f (dúmka), по́гляд (uk) m (póhljad), здання́ n (zdannjá)
• Urdu: رائے‎ f (rāy), خیال‎ m (xayāl), نظر‎ (ur) m (nazar)
• Uyghur: پىكىر‎ (pikir), ئوي‎ (oy)
• Uzbek: fikr (uz), mulohaza (uz), nazar (uz), oʻy (uz)
• Vietnamese: ý kiến (vi) (意見), kiến giải (vi), ý (vi)
• Volapük: kredül (vo)
• Welsh: barn (cy)
• Yiddish: מיינונג‎ f (meynung)
• Zazaki: fıkır m, asatış c

мнение, взгляд, убеждение, воззрение, заключение специалиста, судебное решение

существительное ↓

Словосочетания

the ruling opinion on premarital sex — господствующее мнение по поводу добрачного секса  
opinion at home and in the dominions — мнение общественности в метрополии и в колониях (брит.)  
clarification of political opinion — прояснение политических взглядов  
climate of opinion, climate of thought — состояние общественного мнения, общественный климат  
my entire coincidence with your opinion — полное согласие с вашим мнением  
concordance of opinion — единство взглядов, мнений  
consentaneous with the opinion (of) — совпадающий с чьим-л. мнением  
the consentient opinion of contemporaries — общее мнение современников  
to divide public opinion — вызвать раскол в общественном мнении  
to show one’s opinion in emphatic shape — очень убедительно выразить своё мнение  
with an eye to public opinion — имея в виду общественное мнение  
frank opinion — откровенное мнение  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

opinioned  — придерживающийся особого мнения, имеющий

Формы слова

noun
ед. ч.(singular): opinion
мн. ч.(plural): opinions

Britannica Dictionary definition of OPINION

имя существительное:

• мнение, взгляд, убеждение

Opinions

We all have opinions on everything.

Каждый из нас имеет на все свое собственное мнение.

Some of us have very strong opinions. Others have not-so-strong opinions. And then there are those who say they have no opinion, which I suppose is some kind of opinion.

У кого-то из нас очень твердые убеждения. У других же – не особенно твердые. А есть еще и те, кто утверждает, что не имеет убеждений – полагаю, это тоже в своем роде убеждение.

It’s interesting how our opinions can be so different. Even on the smallest of things.

Любопытно, насколько наши взгляды могут различаться. Даже на самые незначительные вещи.

It’s also interesting to see how your opinions change as you get older.

Также интересно наблюдать, как взгляды меняются с возрастом.

My opinions of other people change a lot. You have first impressions of someone – that’s your initial opinion. Then, as you get to know them, your opinions of them can change – for better or worse.

Мои мнения о других людях меняются часто. Сначала первое впечатление – это ваше изначальное мнение о ком-то. Потом, когда вы знакомитесь ближе, ваше мнение может измениться – к лучшему или худшему.

Whose opinion is right? I suppose it’s the person who is strongest. They try to force their opinions on others.

Чье мнение правдивее? Думаю, у тех, кто тверже стоит на своем. Они часто навязывают свое мнение другим.

It’s important to listen to and consider the opinions of other people.

Очень важно прислушиваться и считаться с мнением прочих людей.

Sean Banville