consensus; collective will; collective opinion
Refers to the unified opinion or will of a group, often used in formal or organizational contexts.
This reflects the collective will of all the members.
As a result of the meeting, the proposal was adopted as the consensus.
住民の総意を無視して開発が進められた。
Development proceeded, ignoring the collective will of the residents.
新しい方針は理事会の総意を得て決定された。
The new policy was decided after obtaining the board's consensus.
This decision was made based on the residents' consensus.
This proposal reflects the union members' collective will.
民意 specifically means the will of the citizens/public, whereas 総意 can refer to the collective will of any group, not just the public.
総意 stresses the collective will of everyone involved, whereas コンセンサス focuses on the process of reaching a general agreement.
意見 is a single person's individual opinion, while 総意 is the combined, unified opinion of an entire group, so the two should not be used interchangeably.
Compound of 総 (そう, 'all, general') and 意 (い, 'mind, thought'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of collective opinion.