consensus; collective will; collective opinion
Refers to the unified opinion or will of a group, often used in formal or organizational contexts.
As a result of the meeting, the proposal was adopted as the consensus.
Development proceeded, ignoring the collective will of the residents.
This reflects the collective will of all the members.
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.
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.