OPINION

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does opinion mean? 

• OPINION (noun)
  The noun OPINION has 6 senses:

1. a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty

2. 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

3. a belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people

4. the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision

5. the reason for a court's judgment (as opposed to the decision itself)

6. a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

  Familiarity information: OPINION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OPINION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

opinion; persuasion; sentiment; thought; view

Context example:

what are your thoughts on Haiti?

Hypernyms ("opinion" is a kind of...):

belief (any cognitive content held as true)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "opinion"):

pole (one of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions)

political sympathies; politics (the opinion you hold with respect to political questions)

parti pris; preconceived idea; preconceived notion; preconceived opinion; preconception; prepossession (an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence)

eyes (opinion or judgment)

judgement; judgment; mind (an opinion formed by judging something)

idea (a personal view)

Derivation:

opine (expect, believe, or suppose)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

opinion; view

Context example:

his opinions appeared frequently on the editorial page

Hypernyms ("opinion" is a kind of...):

content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "opinion"):

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)

conjecture; guess; hypothesis; speculation; supposition; surmisal; surmise (a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence)

position; side (an opinion that is held in opposition to another in an argument or dispute)

Derivation:

opine (express one's opinion openly and without fear or hesitation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

opinion; popular opinion; public opinion; vox populi

Context example:

he asked for a poll of public opinion

Hypernyms ("opinion" is a kind of...):

belief (any cognitive content held as true)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

judgement; judgment; legal opinion; opinion

Context example:

opinions are usually written by a single judge

Hypernyms ("opinion" is a kind of...):

instrument; legal document; legal instrument; official document ((law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "opinion"):

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)

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)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The reason for a court's judgment (as opposed to the decision itself)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

opinion; ruling

Hypernyms ("opinion" is a kind of...):

judgement; judgment; judicial decision ((law) the determination by a court of competent jurisdiction on matters submitted to it)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "opinion"):

fatwa (a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority)

Instance hyponyms:

Bakke decision (a ruling by the Supreme Court on affirmative action; the Court ruled in 1978 that medical schools are entitled to consider race as a factor in their admission policy)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A vague idea in which some confidence is placed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

belief; feeling; impression; notion; opinion

Context example:

I had a feeling that she was lying

Hypernyms ("opinion" is a kind of...):

idea; thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "opinion"):

presence (the impression that something is present)

effect (an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived))

first blush (at the first glimpse or impression)

hunch; intuition; suspicion (an impression that something might be the case)

 Context examples 

“—As you was so good as to say that,” resumed the young man, “why I turned to with a will, you see. Will you give me your opinion of it?”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Striking one of them, I was able at last to form some opinion of this place into which I had fallen.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then came the hours of suspense, during which she vibrated from parlor to porch, while public opinion varied like the weathercock.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

"You have only Weedon's opinion for that," rejoined the judge.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I simply wish to hear your real, real opinion.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My opinion is this: that 'ere wolf is a-'idin' of, somewheres.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

She applied to Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Allen's opinion was more positive.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Few young ladies of eighteen could be less called on to speak their opinion than Fanny.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

"Aye, to be sure. Yes, indeed, oh yes! I am quite of your opinion, Mrs Croft," was Mrs Musgrove's hearty answer.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

But, Jane, I see by your face you are not forming a very favourable opinion of me just now.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)