opinion definition | Dictionary.com

o⋅pin⋅ion

[uh-pin-yuh

–noun

1.	a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.

2.	a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

3.	the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.

4.	Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.

5.	a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion.

6.	a favorable estimate; esteem: I haven't much of an opinion of him.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME < OF < L opīniōn- (s. of opīniō), deriv. of opīnārī to opine

Synonyms:
1. persuasion, notion, idea, impression. Opinion, sentiment, view are terms for one's conclusion about something. An opinion is a belief or judgment that falls short of absolute conviction, certainty, or positive knowledge; it is a conclusion that certain facts, ideas, etc., are probably true or likely to prove so: political opinions; an opinion about art; In my opinion this is true. Sentiment (usually pl.) refers to a rather fixed conviction, usually based on feeling or emotion rather than reasoning: These are my sentiments. View is an estimate of something, an intellectual judgment, a critical survey based on a mental examination, particularly of a public matter: views on governmental planning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To opinion

o·pin·ion (ə-pĭn'yən)

A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof: "The world is not run by thought, nor by imagination, but by opinion" (Elizabeth Drew).
A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert: a medical opinion.
A judgment or estimation of the merit of a person or thing: has a low opinion of braggarts.
The prevailing view: public opinion.
Law A formal statement by a court or other adjudicative body of the legal reasons and principles for the conclusions of the court.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin opīniō, opīniōn-, from opīnārī, to think.]

Synonyms: These nouns signify something a person believes or accepts as being sound or true. Opinion is applicable to a judgment based on grounds insufficient to rule out the possibility of dispute: "A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great Government of the United States helpless and contemptible" (Woodrow Wilson).
View stresses individuality of outlook: "My view is . . . that freedom of speech means that you shall not do something to people either for the views they have or the views they express" (Hugo L. Black).
Sentiment and especially feeling stress the role of emotion as a determinant: "If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences . . . reason is of no use to us" (George Washington). "There needs protection . . . against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling" (John Stuart Mill).
A belief is a conclusion to which one subscribes strongly: "Our belief in any particular natural law cannot have a safer basis than our unsuccessful critical attempts to refute it" (Karl Popper).
Conviction is belief that excludes doubt: "the editor's own conviction of what, whether interesting or only important, is in the public interest" (Walter Lippmann).
Persuasion applies to a confidently held opinion: "He had a strong persuasion that Likeman was wrong" (H.G. Wells).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Opinion

O*pin"ion\, n. [F., from L. opinio. See Opine.]

1. That which is opined; a notion or conviction founded on probable evidence; belief stronger than impression, less strong than positive knowledge; settled judgment in regard to any point of knowledge or action.

Opinion is when the assent of the understanding is so far gained by evidence of probability, that it rather inclines to one persussion than to another, yet not without a mixture of incertainty or doubting. --Sir M. Hale.

I can not put off my opinion so easily. --Shak.

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

I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people. --Shak.

Friendship . . . gives a man a peculiar right and claim to the good opinion of his friend. --South.

However, I have no opinion of those things. --Bacon.

3. Favorable estimation; hence, consideration; reputation; fame; public sentiment or esteem. [Obs.]

Thou hast redeemed thy lost opinion. --Shak.

This gained Agricola much opinion, who . . . had made such early progress into laborious . . . enterprises. --Milton.

4. Obstinacy in holding to one's belief or impression; opiniativeness; conceitedness. [Obs.] --Shak.

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

To be of opinion, to think; to judge.

To hold opinion with, to agree with. [Obs.] --Shak.

Syn: Sentiment; notion; persuasion; idea; view; estimation. See Sentiment.

Opinion

O*pin"ion\, v. t. To opine. [Obs.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : opinion

Spanish: opinión,

German: die Meinung,

Japanese: 意見

More Translations »

opinion

c.1300, from O.Fr. opinion (12c.), from L. opinionem (nom. opinio) "opinion, conjecture, what one thinks," from stem of opinari "think, judge, suppose, opine," from PIE *op- "to choose." Opinionated "obstinate" is attested from 1601.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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opinion

A Certified Public Accountant's written attestation as to the fairness of presentation of financial statements. Anything other than an opinion that the statements have been presented fairly is a matter of serious concern to investors. Also called accountant's opinion, auditor opinion. See also adverse opinion, clean opinion, disclaimer of opinion, qualified opinion, subject to opinion.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Main Entry: opin·ion
Pronunciation: &-'pin-y&n
Function: noun
1 a : a belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge b : a formal expression of a judgment or appraisal by an expert —see also opinion testimony at TESTIMONY —compare FACT
2 a : advice or evaluation regarding the legal issues involved in a situation given by an attorney to a client opinion of title> called also legal opinion —see also opinion letter at LETTER 1 b : an advisory opinion issued by an authorized public official (as an attorney general) or a recognized body (as the American Bar Association)
3 a : the formal written expression by a court or judge of the reasons and principles of law upon which the decision in a case is based —compare HOLDING, JUDGMENT, RULING

advisory opinion
: a nonbinding opinion or evaluation of a court or other judicial or quasi-judicial authority or body regarding the effect of the law on a situation that does not present an actual controversy between parties advisory opinion —JBC of Wyoming Corporation v. City of Cheyenne, 843 Pacific Reporter, Second Series 1190 (1992)>
NOTE: Advisory opinions are issued esp. by administrative agencies and by some state courts. Federal courts are constrained by the U.S. Constitution to deciding only cases or controversies and cannot issue advisory opinions.

concurring opinion
: an opinion by a judge who agrees with the result in a case but not necessarily with the reasoning used to reach it

dissenting opinion
: an opinion by a judge who disagrees with the result in a case

majority opinion
: an opinion in a case that is written by one judge and in which a majority of the judges on the court join

memorandum opinion
1 : a brief opinion of a court that announces the result of a case without extensive discussion and that is usually unpublished and cannot be cited as precedent
2 : an opinion of the U.S. Tax Court that is ordered not to be published but that is authoritative as precedent
3 a : an opinion of a court that sets forth the court's views or intended decision in a case but does not constitute the judgment b : an opinion of a court or judge setting forth the conclusions and findings and containing or constituting the actual order, judgment, or decree in the case

per curiam opinion
: a usually very brief unanimous opinion attributed to the court as a whole and not to any particular judge

plurality opinion
: an opinion with which a majority of the judges on the court concur in result but not in reasoning

sep·a·rate opinion
: an opinion written separately by a judge who dissents or who concurs only in the result of the majority opinion

slip opinion
: an opinion published in temporary form soon after the decision is rendered b : a written explanation for a decision reached by an official (as an arbitrator) presiding over the nonjudicial resolution of a dispute

Main Entry: opin·ion
Pronunciation: &-'pin-y&n
Function: noun
: a formal expression of judgment or advice by an expert opinion on the advisability of performing the operation>

opinion

see form an opinion; matter of opinion.

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