Difference between fact and opinion. Although facts and opinions are used interchangeably, they have very different definitions. Whether a statement is considered a fact or an opinion depends on the validity of the statement. A fact is a statement expressing something that is true or real and is supported by evidence. In contrast, opinion is a person’s belief or thought process regarding the incident.
Simply put, a fact is a proven truth and cannot be disputed, while opinion is personal, relative, and open to challenge.
Difference Between Fact And Opinion
A fact is anything that has occurred or is known to have occurred and may be supported by credible evidence. Fact is defined and measurable, as well as observable and verifiable. The use of fact verifies statements and is frequently supported by the investigation’s research.
The fact can be a piece of information or an event based on true occurrences and can be verified by evidence, statistics, or documentation. As a result, it is verifiable truth or reality that has been agreed upon by all parties concerned. Fact is absolute in the sense that it is the same for everyone and cannot be interpreted otherwise.
Opinion, however, represents a personal view or judgment about the investigation. It is not always backed up by hard evidence. Different people might have different ideas on the same subject as opinion is relative. As a result, an opinion is an inconclusive statement influenced by a person’s biases, beliefs, sentiments, thoughts, viewpoints, desires, attitudes, experiences, and understanding.
It is necessary to be able to distinguish between fact and opinion, analyze things, and make conclusions to determine the credibility of information or statements.
Key Differences
The distinction between fact and opinion is based on the following criteria:
- The statement that can be verified or proven to be true is referred to as a fact. An opinion is a statement of judgment or belief about something.
- Opinion is based on assumptions, whereas fact is based on observation or research.
- The difference between fact and opinion is that fact is an objective reality, whereas opinion is a subjective statement.
- Evidence or statistics can be used to verify facts. On the contrary, there is no evidence to back up opinion.
- The facts explain what happened. That, unlike an opinion, represents a perception of something.
- One distinguishing feature of the fact is that it is universal and does not vary from person to person. In contrast, every human being has a different opinion on a particular subject, so it varies from person to person.
- Facts are presented using unbiased language, whereas opinions are expressed using biased language.
- Facts can change anyone’s mind, but not the other way around.
- Facts are real information that cannot be challenged or debated, whereas opinions can be debated.
Final Thoughts
To determine the dependability and utility of an information or statement, it is critical to understand the distinctions between fact and opinion in order to evaluate and draw conclusions. It is difficult to determine whether a given expression is a fact or an opinion while reading comprehension because writers frequently juxtapose them. Facts are always one step ahead of opinions because facts can be proven to be correct or accurate, whereas opinions can be correct but not proven to be true.
