sentiment
B2Slightly formal; common in written and analytical contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A thought, opinion, or feeling based more on emotion than reason.
A general attitude or feeling; also used in specialized contexts to refer to market mood in finance or public opinion in politics.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often refers to collective feelings of a group (public sentiment, market sentiment). Can sometimes imply an outdated or overly simplistic feeling (e.g., 'old-fashioned sentiments').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in core meaning. 'Sentiment' is used similarly in both varieties.
Connotations
Both share the potential connotation of emotion over logic. In UK business media, 'sentiment' may be slightly more formal.
Frequency
Slightly higher frequency in American financial news (market sentiment).
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
There is a growing sentiment that...The sentiment among voters is...to express a sentimenta sentiment of optimism/pessimismVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A sentiment echoed by many”
- “Go against the prevailing sentiment”
- “To be in (full) sentiment with someone”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to market or investor mood, e.g., 'Bearish market sentiment drove the sell-off.'
Academic
Used in sociology, politics, and literary analysis to describe collective attitudes, e.g., 'The study analysed public sentiment towards immigration.'
Everyday
Used to describe personal feelings or general group opinion, e.g., 'The sentiment in the office is quite positive.'
Technical
In Natural Language Processing (NLP), 'sentiment analysis' refers to computationally identifying emotional tone in text.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- It is difficult to sentiment that data. (Note: 'sentiment' is not a verb.)
American English
- The study seeks to sentiment the tweets. (Note: 'sentiment' is not a verb.)
adverb
British English
- He spoke sentimentally about his childhood.
- She argued sentimentally rather than logically.
American English
- The decision was made sentimentally.
- He sentimentally recalled their first meeting.
adjective
British English
- A sentiment analysis of the news was commissioned.
- His views were dismissed as mere sentiment opinion.
American English
- We ran a sentiment analysis on the reviews.
- It was a sentiment-driven decision.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I agree with your sentiment.
- Her speech expressed a kind sentiment.
- The general sentiment at work is good.
- He expressed a popular sentiment about the new law.
- There is a growing sentiment among voters that change is needed.
- Market sentiment has turned negative due to the latest report.
- The prevailing academic sentiment challenges the traditional narrative.
- Policymakers must gauge public sentiment before introducing such reforms.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'SENT' + 'I' + 'MENT' -> I SENT my feelings (sentiment) in a message.
Conceptual Metaphor
SENTIMENT IS A FORCE (e.g., 'a wave of sentiment'), SENTIMENT IS A SUBSTANCE (e.g., 'growing sentiment', 'stir up sentiment').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'sensibility' or 'sensation'. Russian 'настроение' is closer to 'mood', while 'sentiment' is more of a formulated feeling/opinion.
- The adjective 'sentimental' has a stronger connotation of being overly emotional ('сентиментальный').
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a countable noun for a single, fleeting emotion (e.g., 'I had a sentiment of joy' - use 'feeling').
- Confusing 'sentiment' with 'sentimentality'.
- Incorrect spelling: 'sentament', 'sentimant'.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'sentiment' LEAST likely to be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is neutral. It describes an emotion-based opinion, which can be positive, negative, or neutral (e.g., optimistic sentiment, anti-immigrant sentiment, mixed sentiment).
'Feeling' is broader and more personal/physical. 'Sentiment' is more specific to an opinion or attitude based on emotion, often shared by a group. You have a 'feeling' of hunger, but a 'sentiment' of injustice.
No, 'sentiment' is exclusively a noun. The related verb is 'to feel' or 'to opine'. In technical fields, you might 'analyse sentiment' or 'gauge sentiment'.
It is a field of study in computer science (NLP) that uses algorithms to identify and extract subjective information, like emotions and opinions, from text data (e.g., reviews, social media posts).