Opinion
Etymology
From Latin "opinio" (a belief, conjecture, estimation), from "opinari" (to think, judge, suppose). The word carries a built-in tentativeness — an opinion is what one supposes, not what one has established.
noun · /uh-PIN-yun/
A judgment or view held without conclusive proof, especially on matters open to debate.
What it names
A handle for a stance you can reasonably disagree with — the terrain of taste, value, and interpretation rather than settled fact.
Example
That the film dragged is an opinion; that it ran three hours is a fact.
Related idea
The useful triangle: a fact is true or false regardless of who’s asked; an opinion is a judgment that can differ reasonably between people; a belief is something held as true, which may be about fact or value. "Everyone’s entitled to their opinion" applies to opinions — not to facts dressed up as them.
noun · /uh-PIN-yun/
A court’s formal written statement of its decision and the reasoning behind it.
What it names
a judge’s official ruling and rationale
Example
The majority opinion ran to sixty pages.
Related idea
Compare dissent, the opinion that disagrees.
noun · /uh-PIN-yun/
A professional’s formal assessment, especially a doctor’s.
What it names
an expert’s considered judgment
Example
She sought a second opinion before the surgery.
Related idea
An expert’s considered judgment — broader than a diagnosis, which names the specific ailment, or a prognosis, which forecasts its course; the opinion is the professional’s overall verdict, the kind you seek a second of.
See also