popular opinion
- noun
- /ˈpɑpjələr əˈpɪnjən/
- In a democracy, leaders often adjust their policies to align with popular opinion.
- contrary to popular opinion
- reflect popular opinion
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeSo what most people do is they follow popular opinion and they just think that that's what the truth is.
- So what most people do is they follow popular opinion and they just think that that's what the truth is.
- I did an interview with Kanye West, and then there's a lot of popular opinions about him being mentally unwell and so on.
- And when popular opinion is on another side, I'll mention it that that's not going to dictate what the neutral analysis is.
Examples
-
We tend to let the market or popular opinion shape our identity.
Blog text (33) -
The findings contradicted popular opinion that Canadian student-athletes are committed primarily to academics and only marginally to athletics.
Academic text (2002) -
What is more important to your decision making: popular opinion or research?
Academic text (2004) -
However, the planning board did not respond to popular opinion, a decision that led to much speculation and some hard feelings.
Academic text (2010) -
When a nation's government is abusing human rights against popular opinion, then one can no longer claim "cultural differences."
Academic text (2002) -
Although they are highly visible, NGO activities are not a direct measure of popular opinion.
Academic text (2002) -
The president also enjoyed a great advantage over Romney in popular opinion polls in Mexico.
Blog text (1) -
President Clinton fared much better in the court of American popular opinion than he did on Capitol Hill.
Academic text (2001) -
The King nevertheless bowed to popular opinion and invited Attlee to form a government.
Blog text (26) -
Popular opinion has it that the communists' claim to leadership can't be upheld much longer.
Synonyms
The view that most people in a group have
Agreement among a group of people about an idea or decision
The views most people in a society have about an issue
What most people think or want about a public issue
What most people think about something
How Popular
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a belief held by the majority' is directly and transparently composed from 'popular' (widely liked or common) + 'opinion' (a view or belief), so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common nominal combination rather than an idiom, making it readily comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Popular opinion puts together two simple words: popular meaning 'of the people' and opinion meaning 'a view'. Imagine a busy market where many people all say the same thing. That shared voice becomes popular opinion, 'what most people think'.