opinion

(ə-pĭn'yən)
n.

1. 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).
2. A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert: a medical opinion.
3. A judgment or estimation of the merit of a person or thing: has a low opinion of braggarts.
4. The prevailing view: public opinion.
5. 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   opinion, view, sentiment, feeling, belief, conviction, persuasion. 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).

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A monthly magazine published in Sydney, which included verse, literary essays, notes on literary societies and appreciations of past and contemporary Australian writers, appeared from May to October 1935. Its first issue included a highly sympathetic review of Patrick White's volume of verse The Ploughman (1935).

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Statement describing results of an examination of a firm's books and records, following generally accepted auditing and accounting standards. The opinion may be qualified or unqualified, depending on the scope of the examination and the accountant's confidence in the information reviewed. A qualified opinion, although not necessarily negative, indicates information that the accountant was not able to directly confirm, normally because of limitations in the scope of the audit. See also Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

noun

Something believed or accepted as true by a person: belief, conviction, feeling, idea, mind, notion, persuasion, position, sentiment, view. See opinion.

n

Definition: belief
Antonyms: reality, truth

The opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in cases that it decides is usually a majority opinion. A majority is one more than half of the justices participating in a decision. When five of the nine justices agree with the opinion of the Court, there is a majority opinion of the Court. When four of seven justices agree (with two justices not participating), there is a majority opinion. All decisions of the Court are by majority vote. In some cases, however, there is not a majority opinion because too many justices write their own concurring opinions. These justices vote with the majority to reach a decision on a case, but they write separate concurring opinions. For example, in 1989 the Court decided Webster v. Reproductive Health Services by a 5 to 4 vote. However, two justices voting with the majority wrote separate concurring opinions. Only three justices joined the opinion announced by the Court. As a result, there was a plurality opinion in the case, not a majority opinion.

See also Concurring opinion; Dissenting opinion; Opinions of the Supreme Court; Plurality opinion

Sources

• Fred W. Friendly and Martha J. H. Elliott. “A Knock at the Door: How the Supreme Court Created a Rule to Enforce the Fourth Amendment”, in The Constitution: That Delicate Balance (New York: Random House, 1984)

The reason given for a court’s judgment, finding, or conclusion, as opposed to the decision , which is the judgment itself. See 107 P. 2d 1104, 1106, 1107. An opinion of a court implies its adoption by a majority of the judges. See 123 S.W. 2d 83,
85. Opinions are usually written by a single judge and if there were more than one judge deciding the matter, as in an appeal to a three-member appellate tribunal, other judges will join in the opinion.


concurring opinion
one that is basically in accord with the

majority opinion
, but written to express a somewhat different view of the issues, to illuminate a particular judge’s reasoning, to expound a principle which he holds in high esteem, etc. An opinion that concurs “in the result only” is one that entirely rejects the reasoning and conclusions concerning the law and/ or the facts on the basis of which the majority reached its decision, and which expresses a different view, but has coincidentally led the judge or justice writing it to recommend the same disposition of the case (affirmance, dismissal, remand, etc.) as was agreed upon by the majority (or plurality).


dissenting opinion
one that disagrees with the disposition made of the case by the court, the facts or law on the basis of which the court arrived at its decision, and/or the principles of law announced by the court in deciding the case. Opinions may also be written which express a dissent “in part.”

expert opinion
see expert witness.

lay opinion
see lay witness. majority opinion one that is joined by a majority of the court. Generally known as “the opinion.”

per curiam opinion
an opinion “by the court,” which expresses its decision in the case but whose author is not identified.


plurality opinion
one agreed to by less than a majority of the court but the result of which is agreed to by the majority. A plurality opinion carries less weight under stare decisis than does a majority opinion (above).
“Opinion” also refers to the conclusions reached by a witness which are drawn from his observations of the facts; such an “opinion” is merely evidence from which the trier of fact will make an ultimate finding. See 129 N.W. 2d 393, 396; 13 So. 2d 669, 672.
See expert witness.

A statement signed by an independent accountant outlining his or her opinion regarding the quality of information contained in a company's financial reports and records.

Investopedia Says:
An accountant's opinion statement can either be qualified or unqualified. When the opinion is qualified, the accountant is questioning the accounting principles and/or scope of the information provided. An unqualified opinion is given when the accountant sees that the given information in the financial statements is sound. In other words, an unqualified opinion is desirable whereas a qualified opinion is not.

The subject of accountant independence became an important issue in the wake of the demise of such corporate giants as Enron and WorldCom in the early 2000's. Because Enron and WorldCom were large companies, they represented a substantial portion of their accounting firms' revenues. This lead to the speculation that the accountants could not provide truly independent opinions for these giant companies, who provided the accountants with extremely lucrative contracts but also might have terminated these contracts if undesirable accounting opinions were issued.

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IN BRIEF: A judgment about something.

The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion.

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Quotes:

"Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral laws are written on the table of eternity." - Lord Acton

"Public opinion is a second conscience." - William R. Alger

"Opinion is the main thing which does harm or good in the world. It is our false opinions that ruin us." - Marcus Antonius

"Opinions are formed in a process of open discussion and public debate, and where no opportunity for the forming of opinions exists, there may be moods --moods of the masses and moods of individuals, the latter no less fickle and unreliable than the former --but no opinion." - Hannah Arendt

"How much time he saves who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks." - Marcus Aurelius

"Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct." - Jane Austen

See more famous quotes about Opinions

n

In the law of evidence, an inference or conclusion drawn by a witness from information known to him or her or assumed.

For a list of words related to opinion, see:

• Decisions, Judgments, and Conditions - opinion: formal court decision with factual determinations and legal reasons supporting it
• Judgments and Critiques - opinion: point of view, appraisal of particular matter

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See words rhyming with "opinion."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Opinion.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of opinion

• oppinion

Dansk (Danish)
n. - mening, anskuelse, opfattelse, udtalelse

idioms:

• be of the opinion    være af den mening
• have a high opinion of    have høje tanker om
• opinion poll    meningsundersøgelse, opinionsundersøgelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
mening, opinie, oordeel, opvatting, advies

Français (French)
n. - opinion, opinions, (Jur) avis motivé

idioms:

• be of the opinion    estimer que
• have a high opinion of    avoir une haute opinion de
• opinion poll    sondage d'opinion

Deutsch (German)
n. - Ansicht, Meinung, Gutachten, Urteil

idioms:

• be of the opinion    der Ansicht sein
• have a high opinion of    eine hohe Meinung von jdm haben
• opinion poll    Meinungsumfrage

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γνώμη, κρίση, άποψη, (δικαστική, ιατρική κ.λπ.) γνωμάτευση

idioms:

• be of the opinion    είμαι της γνώμης/άποψης
• have a high opinion of    έχω περί πολλού
• opinion poll    σφυγμομέτρηση της κοινής γνώμης, γκάλοπ

Italiano (Italian)
consiglio, opinione

idioms:

• be of the opinion    essere del parere
• opinion poll    sondaggio di opinione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - opinião (f), parecer (m)

idioms:

• be of the opinion    ser de opinião
• have a high opinion of    ter em alta consideração
• opinion poll    pesquisa de opinião

Русский (Russian)
мнение, убеждение

idioms:

• be of the opinion    считать
• have a high opinion of    иметь высокое мнение
• opinion poll    опрос общественного мнения

Español (Spanish)
n. - consejo, dictamen, recomendación, opinión, expresión, parecer

idioms:

• be of the opinion    ser de opinión, ser del parecer
• have a high opinion of    tener una muy buena opinión de , tener en la más alta consideración y estima
• opinion poll    encuesta, sondeo de la opinión pública

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - mening, åsikt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
意见, 见解, 评价, 主张, 舆论

idioms:

• be of the opinion    持...的观点, 认为..., 相信...
• have a high opinion of    对...评价很高
• opinion poll    民意测验

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 意見, 見解, 評價, 主張, 輿論

idioms:

• be of the opinion    持...的觀點, 認為..., 相信...
• have a high opinion of    對...評價很高
• opinion poll    民意測驗

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 의견, 여론, 판단, 존경

idioms:

• be of the opinion    ~라고 생각하다
• have a high opinion of    ~을 신용하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 意見, 持論, 世論, 判断, 評価

idioms:

• be of the opinion    という考えである
• opinion poll    世論調査

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) رأي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דיעה, השקפה, חוות-דעת, עצה מקצועית, דעת-הקהל‬

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