What is an Opinion?

An opinion is a statement that expresses a belief, idea, or emotion that is not provable. Opinions are subjective, meaning the veracity depends on the person’s own perception rather than an objective truth. The validity of opinions cannot be proven one way or another but only expressed and defended. Any individual can provide evidence to support their opinion and convince someone else to hold the same belief, but this does not mean that the opinion can be proven based on this evidence. Opinions can be as simple as one’s favorite food or as significant as the best course of action that a politician could take; neither can be proven as true or false.

Opinions can also be general, like a public opinion or attitude on a certain subject. They can also be obvious like “boiling water is hot.” The word “hot” is connotative, meaning that it evokes an emotional association rather than an explicit meaning, so while nearly everyone would agree that “boiling water is hot,” it is not a fact since the word “hot” is subjective.

Examples of Opinions

Some examples of opinions might include:

• Columbus Day should not be a holiday in the United States anymore
• Abraham Lincoln was a great man, and he was the best president of the United States.
• Paris is the most beautiful city in the world.
• Dogs are the best pets because they are the most loyal.

What is a Fact?

On the other hand, a fact is a statement that can be proven beyond any doubt. Facts are objective, meaning the veracity is independent of anyone’s perception or beliefs. They can be verified and supported with indisputable evidence. Facts often rely on denotative language, or language with a specific, explicit, or direct meaning. The statement “water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit” uses denotative language and doesn’t rely on any implications or gray areas. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be argued against, however. At higher altitudes, water boils at lower temperatures, so this could be disputed. However, that doesn’t make it an opinion because it was still proven with evidence.

Examples of Facts

Some examples of facts might include:

• “Columbus Day is observed in the United States each year, on the second Monday in October.”
• “Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, and served in this role from 1861 until 1865.”
• “Paris is the capital of France and is home to over 2 million people.”
• “Approximately 48 million households in the United States have a pet dog.”

Opinion vs. Fact

When determining whether a statement is a fact or an opinion, the following two questions can be asked:

1. Can the statement be proven to be either true or false?
2. Does this statement refer to an author’s personal beliefs, ideas, or feelings about the topic?

If the answer to the first question is “it cannot,” and the answer to the second is “it does,” then the statement is an opinion. On the other hand, if the answer to the first one is “it can,” and the answer to the second is “it doesn’t,” then the statement is a fact. These two questions can be applied to the statements “boiling water is hot” and “water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit” to determine whether it is a fact or an opinion.

“Boiling water is hot.”

1. Can the statement be proven to be either true or false? It cannot. This statement can not be proven since “hot” is subjective and connotative. Different people have different interpretations of “hot.”
2. Does this statement refer to an author’s personal beliefs, ideas, or feelings about the topic? It does. While the reasons for saying this are ones that most people would agree with, such as the fact that boiling water can burn skin, this still relies on the author’s own perception of the word “hot.”

“Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.”

1. Can the statement be proven to be either true or false? It can. This statement can be proven easily by boiling water and showing a reading on a thermometer once it reaches the boiling point.
2. Does this statement refer to an author’s personal beliefs, ideas, or feelings about the topic? It does not. 212 degrees Fahrenheit is denotative and gives a precise thing to measure. It relies on something measurable, not anyone’s opinion.

The two questions can be used to determine many other statements, for example:

“Columbus Day should not be a holiday in the United States anymore.”

1. Can the statement be proven to be either true or false? It cannot. The word “should” references the author’s own belief or recommendation, not any verifiable fact. A belief cannot be proven true or false.
2. Does this statement refer to an author’s personal beliefs, ideas, or feelings about the topic? It does. The author most likely has a lot of information or evidence to back this up, such as the popular perception of Columbus in the United States or facts about things that Columbus did. However, these still do not prove anything as “true” or “false.”

“Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, and served in this role from 1861 until 1865.”

1. Can the statement be proven to be either true or false? It can. The author can provide historical records of all the past Presidents of the United States, showing the order of the first 16, as well as the time that Lincoln served.
2. Does this statement refer to an author’s personal beliefs, ideas, or feelings about the topic? It does not. Whether or not Lincoln was a good president would be an opinion that relies on the author’s own beliefs, but this statement only references the provable historical information about Lincoln’s presidency.

Lesson Summary

Opinions are subjective statements that cannot be proven to be true or false. Facts, on the other hand, can be proven true or false and are objective statements. In order to determine whether a statement is a fact or an opinion, the following two questions can be asked:

1. Can the statement be proven to be either true or false?
2. Does this statement refer to an author’s personal belief, ideas, or feeling about the topic?‘

An example of an opinion would be “Columbus Day should not be a holiday in the United States anymore,” and an example of a fact would be “Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and served in this role from 1861 until 1865.”