sentiment

[ sen-tuh-muhnt ]

noun

1. an attitude toward something; regard; opinion.
2. a mental feeling; emotion:

   a sentiment of pity.

3. refined or tender emotion; manifestation of the higher or more refined feelings.
4. exhibition or manifestation of feeling or sensibility, or appeal to the tender emotions, in literature, art, or music.
5. a thought influenced by or proceeding from feeling or emotion.
6. the thought or feeling intended to be conveyed by words, acts, or gestures as distinguished from the words, acts, or gestures themselves.

sentiment

/ ˈsɛntɪmənt /

noun

1. susceptibility to tender, delicate, or romantic emotion

   she has too much sentiment to be successful

2. often plural a thought, opinion, or attitude
3. exaggerated, overindulged, or mawkish feeling or emotion
4. an expression of response to deep feeling, esp in art or literature
5. a feeling, emotion, or awareness

   a sentiment of pity

6. a mental attitude modified or determined by feeling

   there is a strong revolutionary sentiment in his country

7. a feeling conveyed, or intended to be conveyed, in words

Other Words From

• senti·ment·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentiment¹

First recorded in 1325–75; from Medieval Latin sentīmentum, equivalent to Latin sentī(re) “to feel” + -mentum -ment; replacing Middle English sentement, from Old French, from Medieval Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentiment¹

C17: from Medieval Latin sentīmentum, from Latin sentīre to feel

Synonym Study

See opinion. Sentiment, sentimentality are terms for sensitiveness to emotional feelings. Sentiment is a sincere and refined sensibility, a tendency to be influenced by emotion rather than reason or fact: to appeal to sentiment. Sentimentality implies affected, excessive, sometimes mawkish sentiment: weak sentimentality.

Example Sentences

That sentiment was confirmed by several Democrats, reporters and members of the Secret Service.

From Salon

Though Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, its leaders cannot afford to ignore public sentiment, which has turned sharply against Israel.

From Los Angeles Times

Sparks echoed those sentiments: “I feel that everybody needs a night off. I think we should all celebrate cool culture and come together. Let’s have some fun and dance the pain away.”

From Los Angeles Times

This is a sentiment echoed by Lucas Lane, 15, who runs an online business selling nail polish to boys.

From BBC

Chu shared the latter sentiment, and offered advice for other productions seeking to do the same.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attitude
• bias
• feeling
• idea
• opinion
• passion
• position
• tendency
• thought
• view

When To Use

What are other ways to say sentiment?

A sentiment is a mental feeling or tender emotion, or a thought proceeding from feeling or emotion. How is it different from feeling, emotion, and passion? Find out on Thesaurus.com.