INDEX:
1. what you think about something
2. an opinion that is influenced by the situation you are in
3. what a particular group think about something
4. what most people think about something
5. the official opinion of a person or group
RELATED WORDS
stop people from expressing their opinions : ↑ STOP
the opinion that people have of a person, oganization etc : ↑ REPUTATION , ↑ ACCEPT , ↑ REJECT , ↑ AGAINST/OPPOSE
have a particular opinion : ↑ THINK
see also
↑ AGREE
↑ SUPPORT
↑ IN GENERAL
↑ DISAGREE
↑ IDEA
↑ MODERATE
↑ EXTREME
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1. what you think about something
▷ opinion /əˈpɪnjən/ [countable noun]
▪ Please phone in with your comments and opinions.
▪ Opinions vary widely on this matter.
opinion of
▪ The rating a film gets reflects the opinions of our reviewers.
my/your/her etc opinion
▪ Do you really want my opinion?
▪ He acknowledged that he had no evidence to support his opinion.
opinion on/about
▪ They have very different opinions about religion.
▪ Many board members said they had no opinion on Goldman’s proposal.
in my/our etc opinion
▪ In my opinion, most lawyers are overpaid.
▪ This is, in the opinion of the critics, their best record for years.
have a high/low opinion of something/somebody
think somethingor someone is good or bad
▪ Politicians generally have a low opinion of the press.
give/express an opinion
▪ About 100 people showed up to express their opinions about the project.
ask somebody’s opinion
▪ In 10 years of teaching, I have never been asked my opinion on any matter of policy.
somebody is entitled to their opinion
say this when you disagree with someone else’s opinion
▪ He’s entitled to his opinion, of course, but it does not give him the right to be offensive.
be of the opinion that
have a particular opinion formal
▪ The coroner was of the opinion that the man had been dead for only 24 hours.
▷ what you think of/about something /ˌwɒt juː ˈθɪŋk əv, əbaʊt something/ [noun phrase] especially spoken
your opinion about something, especially whether you think it is good or bad :
▪ What do you think of her new CD?
▪ Tell me what you think about the design.
▪ No one ever really stops and asks kids what they think about things.
▪ Well, I know what I think, but you might not agree.
▷ view /vjuː/ [countable noun]
your opinion about something, especially about a serious or important subject :
▪ It is natural for children to have different views from their parents.
view that
▪ I don’t agree with the view that longer prison sentences stop people from committing crime.
in my/his/John’s etc view
▪ In Freud’s view, people’s dreams often reveal their unconscious fears.
view about/on
▪ Malthus will always be known mainly for his views on population.
▪ The survey reflected a very conservative view about what the ideal family structure should be.
express a view
▪ Stein was expressing the view of many fellow war veterans.
take a view that
▪ Most nineteenth century scientists took the view that the universe had no purpose or meaning.
▷ attitude /ˈætɪtjuːd, ˈætətjuːdǁ-tuːd/ [countable noun]
what you think and feel about something or someone, especially when this is shown in the way you behave towards them :
▪ I don’t understand your attitude. Why don’t you like her?
▪ The book explains some of the attitudes and values of the Victorians.
attitude to/towards
▪ Since the 1960s, there has been a big change in people’s attitudes to sex before marriage.
take the attitude that
▪ Officials took the attitude that the problem was not their responsibility.
▷ thoughts /θɔːts/ [plural noun]
your opinion about something, especially about what should be done about it, after you have thought about it carefully :
thoughts about/on
▪ Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions about how we should spend the money?
▪ I was anxious to hear his thoughts on the scenes I had written.
have thoughts
▪ Please get back to me with any thoughts you might have on this.
▷ feelings /ˈfiːlɪŋz/ [plural noun]
what you think about something, especially when you have very strong or angry feelings about it :
▪ He makes decisions without ever taking my feelings into account.
feelings about
▪ Kids’ feelings about everything from reading to exercise are influenced by their parents.
strong feelings
▪ She has very strong feelings about this election.
▷ ideas /aɪˈdɪəz/ [plural noun]
what you think about something, especially about the best way to deal with something :
▪ I’m not sure his ideas will be very popular with the voters.
ideas about/on
▪ His ideas about marriage and divorce were very old-fashioned.
▪ I’d like your ideas on how we can improve our working relationship.
▷ sentiment /ˈsentɪmənt, ˈsentəmənt/ [countable/uncountable noun] especially written
an opinion, especially one that is based on emotion :
▪ The speeches were full of nationalist sentiments.
▪ Most people were outraged by the bombing, and their letters of sympathy reflected this sentiment.
public/popular sentiment
what most people think
▪ Several meetings were held to determine what public sentiment was on the issue.
2. an opinion that is influenced by the situation you are in
▷ point of view /ˌpɔɪnt əv ˈvjuː/ [countable noun]
what you think about something, especially when this is influenced by the situation you are in :
▪ People seemed afraid to express a point of view that was different from the government’s.
▪ If Allen had ever been the victim of a crime, he might have a slightly different point of view.
from somebody’s point of view
▪ The story is told from the daughter’s point of view.
▪ From a farmer’s point of view, foxes are a nuisance.
listen to somebody’s point of view
▪ She’s always ready to listen to other people’s point of view.
▷ viewpoint /ˈvjuːpɔɪnt/ [countable noun]
a particular way of thinking about a problem or subject :
▪ We need to seriously consider all the different viewpoints on the issue.
from a historical/feminist/democratic etc viewpoint
▪ The book looks at the Royal family from a sociological and historical viewpoint.
from the viewpoint of somebody
▪ The TV series examines childhood from the viewpoints of twelve different families.
▷ standpoint /ˈstændpɔɪnt/ [countable noun]
a particular way of thinking about something, especially of someone who is involved in a situation or who has to make a professional judgment about it :
from somebody’s standpoint
▪ From the teacher’s standpoint, the new tests just mean more work.
from a financial/political/literary etc standpoint
▪ His books have sold in the millions, but from a literary standpoint they aren’t really very good.
▷ angle /ˈæŋg ə l/ [countable noun]
one of a number of ways of thinking about something that should be considered when dealing with a particular problem or subject :
▪ Advertisers need to find the right angle to make their product appeal to consumers.
▪ The article gives the reader a fresh angle on pop culture.
look at/view/examine etc something from an angle
▪ Thompson says his committee has looked at the problem from every possible angle.
angle on
▪ They wanted an ordinary worker’s angle on the new system.
▷ perspective /pəʳˈspektɪv/ [countable noun]
a way of thinking about something which is influenced by the kind of person you are or by things that have happened to you :
▪ You believe him, but you’ve only heard his perspective.
▪ Different people bring different perspectives and values to the workplace.
from somebody’s perspective
▪ Feminists say that the book was written from a male perspective.
perspective on
▪ A prisoner has a different perspective on prison life than a guard.
3. what a particular group think about something
▷ opinion /əˈpɪnjən/ [uncountable noun]
an opinion shared by a group of people, especially a particular profession or group of people who can influence what is decided :
government/professional/medical etc opinion
▪ Medical opinion is divided as to the effectiveness of the new drug.
world opinion
▪ Their refusal to obey UN regulations had a major effect on world opinion.
▷ thinking /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
an opinion that a group has at a particular time, especially about the best way of doing something :
▪ His statements closely reflect government thinking.
▪ There has been a change in thinking in terms of the influence of diet on the disease.
thinking on
▪ The report goes against current thinking on what is best for working parents.
▷ school of thought /ˌskuːl əv ˈθɔːt/ [noun phrase]
an opinion shared by a group of people who have a very different way of looking at a problem or subject from that of another group of people :
▪ There are two schools of thought. One wants to control inflation, while the other is more interested in boosting employment.
▪ According to one school of thought, the disease is caused by a genetic defect.
▷ body of opinion /ˌbɒdi əv əˈpɪnjənǁˌbɑːdi-/ [countable noun]
an opinion shared by a large group of people, that is considered to be important or that should be listened to :
▪ A significant body of opinion is strongly opposed to the new proposals.
▪ There is a growing body of opinion that says we should put the environment first.
4. what most people think about something
▷ public opinion/popular opinion /ˌpʌblɪk əˈpɪnjən, ˌpɒpjɑlər əˈpɪnjənǁˌpɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
what most of the people of a country think about a particular subject, idea, or problem :
▪ Responding to public opinion, the government introduced new controls on guns.
▪ Popular opinion is quite easily swayed by the media.
▪ Public opinion should not influence every policy decision.
▪ The shooting of an intruder by a farmer has sharply divided popular opinion.
▷ consensus /kənˈsensəs/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a basic opinion with which most of the people in a particular group agree in a general way :
▪ Events in Eastern Europe shifted popular consensus against a new generation of nuclear weapons.
consensus that
▪ There was a growing consensus that the Prime Minister should resign.
consensus of opinion
▪ There appears to be a consensus of opinion that the pilot was not at fault.
▷ majority view /məˈdʒɒrɪti ˌvjuː, məˈdʒɒrəti ˌvjuːǁ-ˈdʒɔːr-/ [singular noun]
what most of the people in a group or a society think about something :
▪ The majority view seems to be that we need more police officers on local streets.
▪ The mayor was quick to point out that the racist group did not represent a majority view in the community.
5. the official opinion of a person or group
▷ position /pəˈzɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun usually singular]
what a government, political party, or a person has decided to be their official or public opinion :
▪ It’s important that the Socialists clarify their position before the conference.
position on
▪ We have made our position on disarmament perfectly clear.
take a position
▪ She takes the position that all asylum seekers should be made welcome.
▷ line /laɪn/ [countable noun usually singular]
the publicly stated opinion of a political party, government etc, which all their members are supposed to agree with :
party/government/official etc line
▪ The whip’s job is to persuade members of his party to support the party line on issues that come before Congress.
line on
▪ What’s his line on abortion?
take a line on something
▪ There was pressure for the President to take a tough line on welfare issues.
▷ stance /stɑːnsǁstæns/ [countable noun]
the publicly stated opinion of a person, group, newspaper etc towards something, especially a political matter :
▪ The political stance of the paper means it is unlikely to report the affair in a balanced way.
▪ The official stance is that the lottery money should be used for the arts and education.
stance on
▪ His tough stance on crime appeals to voters.
take a stance on something
▪ The council has taken a pro-growth, pro-business stance on development issues.
▷ where somebody stands /weəʳ somebody ˈstændz/
the publicly stated opinion of a person or group, especially when previously this may not have been clear :
▪ Voters need to know where each candidate stands.
where sb stands on
▪ Where do the Democrats stand on the issue of sanctions?