a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
<noun.cognition> my opinion differs from yours I am not of your persuasion what are your thoughts on Haiti?
Sentiment \Sen"ti*ment\, n. [OE. sentement, OF. sentement, F. sentiment, fr. L. sentire to perceive by the senses and mind, to feel, to think. See {Sentient}, a.] 1. A thought prompted by passion or feeling; a state of mind in view of some subject; feeling toward or respecting some person or thing; disposition prompting to action or expression.
The word sentiment, agreeably to the use made of it by our best English writers, expresses, in my own opinion very happily, those complex determinations of the mind which result from the co["o]peration of our rational powers and of our moral feelings. --Stewart.
Alike to council or the assembly came, With equal souls and sentiments the same. --Pope.
2. Hence, generally, a decision of the mind formed by deliberation or reasoning; thought; opinion; notion; judgment; as, to express one's sentiments on a subject.
Sentiments of philosophers about the perception of external objects. --Reid.
Sentiment, as here and elsewhere employed by Reid in the meaning of opinion (sententia), is not to be imitated. --Sir W. Hamilton.
3. A sentence, or passage, considered as the expression of a thought; a maxim; a saying; a toast.
4. Sensibility; feeling; tender susceptibility.
Mr. Hume sometimes employs (after the manner of the French metaphysicians) sentiment as synonymous with feeling; a use of the word quite unprecedented in our tongue. --Stewart.
Usage: {Sentiment}, {Opinion}, {Feeling}. An opinion is an intellectual judgment in respect to any and every kind of truth. Feeling describes those affections of pleasure and pain which spring from the exercise of our sentient and emotional powers. Sentiment (particularly in the plural) lies between them, denoting settled opinions or principles in regard to subjects which interest the feelings strongly, and are presented more or less constantly in practical life. Hence, it is more appropriate to speak of our religious sentiments than opinions, unless we mean to exclude all reference to our feelings. The word sentiment, in the singular, leans ordinarily more to the side of feeling, and denotes a refined sensibility on subjects affecting the heart. ``On questions of feeling, taste, observation, or report, we define our sentiments. On questions of science, argument, or metaphysical abstraction, we define our opinions. The sentiments of the heart. The opinions of the mind . . . There is more of instinct in sentiment, and more of definition in opinion. The admiration of a work of art which results from first impressions is classed with our sentiments; and, when we have accounted to ourselves for the approbation, it is classed with our opinions.'' --W. Taylor.
The European Economic Community's economic sentiment indicator recovered strongly in March amid optimism about Europe's economic prospects for the next year, the EEC Commission said Thursday.
The attack followed an outburst of anti-U.S. sentiment spurred by incidents involving American athletes and news media during the Olympics.
Hugh Johnson, a senior vice president at First Albany Corp., said the overriding sentiment among investors is reluctance.
In keeping with the tenets of my profession I intend to be neutral, but it seems clear that factors of sentiment, which never are to be underestimated in matters of rooting, favor the A's.
Instead, many in the movement are pinning their hopes on attempts to reawaken consumer sentiment at the grass-roots level.
Christian sources said the embassy siege was designed by Aoun to whip up anti-American sentiment among Christians inside and outside Lebanon, to bring pressure on the United States.
The dollar rose in European trading this morning as market sentiment continued to run toward the U.S. currency.
Such positive sentiment has triggered a powerful junk-bond rally that has pushed prices of low-rated bonds to the highest levels in months.
But some dealers said they thought sentiment would improve after the U.S. Treasury's auction of $7.25 billion of four-year notes, scheduled to take place after the close of the European trading day.
There appears to be growing sentiment in Congress to plug this loophole, while giving regulators more time to determine the potential competitive impact of proposed takeovers.
Cutting base rates will do nothing to divert the current bullish sentiment from sterling."
The success of tax overhaul also reflected the power of widespread public sentiment.
But they believe regulatory sentiment now is finally on their side.
Its index of business sentiment for the first three months of this year stood at minus 24, compared with minus 32 in the final quarter of last year.
The advance continued Thursday in the Far East and Europe, but later ran out of steam in New York, as a modicum of bearish dollar sentiment returned.
Foreign exchange dealers said sentiment toward the dollar was relatively weak, with the market still searching for the currency's bottom level.
Bond prices fell sharply on the announcement, depressing sentiment in the stockmarket. Mr Robert Bretz, for the National Association of Purchasing Management, said the economy had regained most of the momentum lost since last autumn.
There is little sentiment in Congress for rearming the anti-government guerillas, and winning the congressional committee approval needed to continue non-lethal aid through February will be difficult enough, another official said.
Ironically, the oil rig perhaps most responsible for marshaling sentiment against the offshore-oil industry is now one of the best examples of a rig-turned-reef.
The insider sell-buy ratio is just one of many tools that analysts and money managers use to gauge market sentiment.
It's not his or mine." But that sentiment, which native Georgian Josef V. Stalin tried to instill by uprooting whole nationalities from their homelands, is proving to be rare among the myriad minorities of the Soviet Union.
Latin American Securities comments that sentiment was encouraged by the successful renegotiation of the annual wage and price accord which removed uncertainty over exchange rate and interest rate fluctuation.
Ms. Bhutto said the violence appeared to be the work of her political rivals and accused them of trying to whip up sentiment against the 2-month-old government.
Indeed, understanding the powerful Nokyo, with its influence over the government, consumer groups and other opinion makers, goes a long way toward understanding Japanese trade intransigence and the strong sentiment for agricultural protectionism.
Adding that sentiment on the dollar was very bearish, he said that the traders' target was 1.65 marks and 132 yen.
Some opponents of the measure said the vote merely reflects anti-government sentiment in the state.
The dollar had dropped more than 4 yen in Tokyo trading between Monday and Wednesday, but the Iraqi invasion reversed market sentiment.
Bearish sentiment continues to pervade the market, traders said, but many participants were wary of taking short, or oversold, positions because of the market's lack of depth.
Mr. Sato of Sanwa Bank added that despite "protectionist sentiment, the U.S. remains the largest free market where entry is relatively easy."
Some Western officials in Moscow say sentiment toward formulating a European response to Mr. Gorbachev's initiatives indicates at least a partial victory for the new pan-European emphasis in Soviet foreign policy under his leadership.