opine

/ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/

//ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"opine" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“opine” is uncommon English (frequency #66,898 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,898
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).

Corpus desk

Index EN-opine · opine · English

opine · rank #66,898 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,898
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Orford

Nearest frequency peer: Orford (+3 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “opine”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “opine” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for opine
PropertyValue
Headwordopine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#66,898
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “opine” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).opinefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Orford” (#66,901), “oligopoly” (#66,894), “oink” (#66,893). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “opine” is #66,898. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

opine is uncommon English at frequency #66,898 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for opine in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French opiner, from Latin opīnor (“to hold as an opinion”), from *opīnus (“thinking, expecting”), only in negative nec-opīnus (“not expecting”) and in-opīnus (“not expected”); akin to optō (“to choose, desire”), and to apīscor (“to obta… The correct English form is opine, spelled O-P-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).
  2. 2
    To give one's formal opinion (on or upon something).
  3. 3
    to suppose, consider as correct, or entertain, an opinion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how opine appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I opined that matters would soon become considerably worse.
  2. "Your decisions," she opined, "have been unfailingly disastrous for this company."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French opiner, from Latin opīnor (“to hold as an opinion”), from *opīnus (“thinking, expecting”), only in negative nec-opīnus (“not expecting”) and in-opīnus (“not expected”); akin to optō (“to choose, desire”), and to apīscor (“to obtain”); see optate and opt.

This word in other languages

opinar(Español)opiner(Français)meinen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "opine"?
"opine" is spelled O-P-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/.
What does "opine" mean?
As a verb, "opine" means: To express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).
How do you pronounce "opine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "opine" is /ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "opine"?
Borrowed from Middle French opiner, from Latin opīnor (“to hold as an opinion”), from *opīnus (“thinking, expecting”), only in negative nec-opīnus (“not expecting”) and in-opīnus (“not expected”); akin to optō (“to choose, desire”), and to apīscor... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "opine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ostia#66,905paisa#66,912NoSQL#66,880picot#66,928

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list