Learn English – How to say succinctly: “An opinion which is ‘shareable’ and agreed upon by many”

italianphrase-requestssingle-word-requests

How would you express the notion: ‘overall many would share that opinion’, more succinctly? For example:

  • It is generally agreed upon that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day".
  • Breakfast is the most important meal of the day is something which many agree (including myself) with

or

  1. Many would agree (myself included) with X's assertion
  2. X's opinion is generally agreed upon
  3. The decision to X is agreed and shared by most

I ask because recently I had to stop myself from saying:

"I didn't take that action, although condivisible".

I stopped short in my tracks and realized I was anglicizing the Italian expression condivisibile which means shareable or any of the expressions which I placed in bold type. If I had to rephrase that last sentence to reflect accurately the meaning of condivisibile I would have to say:

  1. I didn't personally take that action, although it is one which I [and many] would agree with.

Agreeable would have been perfect but it doesn't fit because its primary meaning is enjoyable and pleasurable; pleasant. It is especially inappropriate if the action or decision taken by another is a form of punishment. For example, someone being fined heavily for parking on a pavement/sidewalk despite there being no more parking spaces available (In principle, everyone agrees that parking on sidewalks should be illegal.)

Perhaps the best example is this last one:

He got fined heavily for parking on the sidewalk, although ___________ [I agree/we are all in agreement with the decision to fine him], perhaps the council ought to think about providing more parking spaces.

So, is there a single-word, an adjective or shorter phrase to express this concept?

Best Answer

I suggest something like:

There is a general consensus that X.

A consensus exists that X.

Many believe that X.

Most people accept that X.

There is a widespread belief that X.

It is widely agreed that X.

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