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We are not opining—that is, expressing our opinion—when we say that opine is not a back-formation of opinion, though the two words do share a common ancestry. A back-formation is a word formed by the subtraction of part of an existing word; for instance, the verb bartend is a back-formation of the noun bartender. Opine and opinion, however, both entered English independently, taking different routes from their mutual roots in the Latin verb opīnārī, meaning “to have in mind” or “to think.” Opinion arrived in the 14th century, while opine followed about a century later.
Examples of opine in a Sentence
Yun Li, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025
Fun fact: Donald Shoup, the beloved scholar on the hidden costs of free parking, who died in February, once opined on the parking situation in Balboa Park.
—Andrew Keatts, Axios, 7 Mar. 2025
The poll also found 67% of city voters disapprove of the job Adams is doing, while 13% declined to opine on his performance.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 5 Mar. 2025
And while some think the standoff could be drawn out, a former Commerce Department official opined that Trump and Xi, both aiming to not look weak, could be eyeing a short-term fix to the ongoing trade war.
—Julia Mueller, The Hill, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for opine
Cite this Entry
“Opine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opine. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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