public opinion

NOUN

common belief

Synonyms

WEAK

climate of opinion community sentiment consensus gentium conventional wisdom general belief group pressure popular belief prevailing belief prevailing sentiment public belief social pressure special-interest pressure vox pop vox populi

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He should never forget that his future success depended on public opinion.

From Literature

“Just his appearance on the stand illustrates how public opinion has shifted,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, who studies tech in politics.

From Los Angeles Times

That makes the rich especially valuable in a representative democracy like the U.S., where policy is normally shaped by the play of public opinion, competition among interest groups and the weight of a permanent bureaucracy.

From The Wall Street Journal

If citizens cannot reliably distinguish between genuine public opinion and algorithmically generated simulation of unanimity, democratic decision-making could be severely compromised.

From Salon

The organization’s founder, George Gallup, he said, “argued that public opinion polls could provide information that elections could not give us.”

From Salon