Sentiment is a feeling or opinion about something, especially one influenced by your emotions rather than pure facts. When someone asks, “What's the sentiment in your classroom about the upcoming field trip?” they're asking how people feel about it: are students excited, nervous, or indifferent?

The word often describes attitudes shared by groups. You might hear about “public sentiment” toward a new park or “consumer sentiment” about holiday shopping. When a teacher gauges the sentiment of her students before assigning a big project, she's trying to understand their mood and attitudes.

Sentiment can also mean tender or emotional feelings, especially the warm, nostalgic kind. A letter from your grandmother might be filled with sentiment about family memories. When someone dismisses an idea as “mere sentiment,” they mean it's based on feelings rather than practical thinking.

Writers and speakers sometimes share their sentiments, meaning their thoughts and feelings on a topic. The phrase “my sentiments exactly” means “I feel the same way you do.” Notice that sentiment sits between simple emotion and logical opinion: it's how your heart and mind respond together to something. A sentimental person tends to be moved by emotions and memories more easily than others.