Webster's English Dictionary

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opinion

opin.ion \*-'pin-y*n\ n [ME, fr. MF, fr. L opinion-, opinio; akin to L 
   opinari] 1a: a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a 
   particular ma tter 1b: APPROVAL, ESTEEM  2a: belief stronger than 
   impression and less strong than positive knowledge  : JUDGMENT 2b: a 
   generally held or popular view  3a: a formal expression by an expert of his 
   judgment or advice  3b: the formal expression of the legal reasons and 
   principles upon which a  legal decision is basedSION, SENTIMENT mean a 
   judgment one holds as true. OPINION implies a conclusion thought out yet 
   open to dispute; VIEW suggests an opinion more or less colored by bias; 
   BELIEF implies often deliberate acceptance and intellectual assent; 
   CONVICTION applies to a firmly and seriously held belief; PERSUASION 
   suggests a belief grounded on assurance (as by evidence) of its truth; 
   SENTIMENT suggests an opinion more or less settled because rooted in 
   individual character SYN syn OPINION, VIEW, BELIEF, CONVICTION, PERSUA