1. A thought, view, or attitude, especially one based mainly on emotion instead of reason: An anti-American sentiment swept through the country. See synonyms at feeling, opinion.
2. 1. Emotion; feeling: Different forms of music convey different kinds of sentiment.
   2. Tender or romantic feeling.
   3. Maudlin emotion; sentimentality.
3. The emotional import of a passage as distinct from its form of expression.
4. The expression of delicate and sensitive feeling, especially in art and literature.

[Middle English sentement, from Old French, from Medieval Latin sentīmentum, from Latin sentīre, to feel.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.