notion

1 notions pl  small useful items the fabric store had a wide variety of thread, pins, buttons, and other notions Synonyms etceteras, novelties, odds and ends, sundries Related Words baubles, bric-a-brac, gewgaws (also geegaws), knickknacks (also nicknacks), trinkets; gadgets, gimmicks, jiggers; hodgepodge, miscellany, variety

2 a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action I have a notion to go in-line skating this afternoon Synonyms bee, caprice, crank, fancy, freak, humor, kink, maggot, megrim, whim, vagary, vagrancy, whimsy (also whimsey)Related Words capriciousness, fancifulness, fantasy (also phantasy), freakishness, impetuosity, whimsicality; conceit; concept, conception, image, impression, mind's eye, picture, thought; brainstorm, inspiration

3 an idea that is believed to be true or valid without positive knowledge has this naive notion that most people are basically honest Synonyms belief, conviction, eye, feeling, judgment (or judgement), mind, opinion, persuasion, sentiment, verdict, viewRelated Words say; impression, perception, take; attitude; assumption, presumption, presupposition; conclusion, decision, determination; deliverance, esteem, estimate, estimation; credence, credit, faith; concept, conception, idea, thought; position, stance, stand; comment, obiter dictum, observation, reflection, remark; conjecture, guess, hunch, hypothesis, surmise, theory; advice, input, recommendation, suggestion; angle, outlook, perspective, shoes, slant, standpoint, viewpoint; counterviewNear Antonyms fact, truth

4 something imagined or pictured in the mind that modernistic building does not match my notion of what a country cottage should look like Synonyms abstraction, cogitation, concept, conception, image, impression, intellection, mind's eye, idea, picture, thoughtRelated Words apprehension, premonition, presentiment; preconception, prejudice, prepossession; chimera, delusion, hallucination, illusion, phantasm (also fantasm); caprice, conceit, fancy, freak, kink, vagary, whim; cognition, observation, perception, reflection; assumption, belief, conclusion, conviction; conjecture, guess, hunch, hypothesis, speculation, supposition, surmise, theory; brainchild, brainstorm, brain wave, inspirationNear Antonyms actuality, fact, reality

5 an idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation the popular notion that college athletes are airheads Synonyms concept, conception, generality, generalization, stereotypeRelated Words bromide, cliché (also cliche), commonplace, platitude, truism; adage, proverb, saw, saying; hypothesis, proposition, theory; oversimplification, simplification, simplism