Meaning & use
unpopular decision
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Meanings
phrasecountable
a choice or judgment that many people dislike or disagree with
Grammar: Countable: use 'an unpopular decision' for one, or 'unpopular decisions' for more than one.
Patterns
- make an unpopular decision
- take an unpopular decision
- an unpopular decision about something
- an unpopular decision to do something
The mayor made an unpopular decision to close the town library.
Her unpopular decision to cancel the holiday party upset the whole team.
The board announced an unpopular decision about working hours.
phrasecountableformal
a ruling or verdict that the public or a group strongly criticizes
Grammar: Often used in legal or official contexts: 'The court's unpopular decision was appealed.'
Patterns
- the court's unpopular decision
- an unpopular decision by the judge
- criticize an unpopular decision
The judge's unpopular decision was criticized by both sides.
The committee's unpopular decision to reject the plan led to protests.
Word forms
| plural | unpopular decisions |
|---|
Common combinations
- make an unpopular decision
- The CEO made an unpopular decision to cut bonuses.
- take an unpopular decision
- The government took an unpopular decision to raise taxes.
- announce an unpopular decision
- They announced an unpopular decision about the new schedule.
- an unpopular decision with voters
- The policy was an unpopular decision with voters.
- defend an unpopular decision
- She had to defend her unpopular decision at the meeting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- controversial decision
- This emphasizes that people argue about it, not just that they dislike it; 'unpopular decision' focuses on dislike.
- unwelcome decision
- This suggests the decision is not wanted, but it may not cause active disagreement; 'unpopular' is stronger and more social.
Opposites
Word family
- unpopularity noun
- the state of being disliked by many people
- unpopularly adverb
- in a way that is disliked by many (rare)
Commonly confused: unpopular decision or unpopular opinion?
unpopular decision vs unpopular opinion
An 'unpopular opinion' is a personal view that most people disagree with, while an 'unpopular decision' is a choice or ruling that people dislike.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'unpopular decision' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'make a decision to do something' takes an infinitive with 'to'. Option 1 is correct because it uses 'to change'. The other options use wrong prepositions or verb forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unpopular decision”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.