mentality
Americannoun
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mentalities
plural
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mental capacity or endowment.
a person of average mentality.
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the set of one's mind; view; outlook.
a liberal mentality.
noun
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the state or quality of mental or intellectual ability
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a way of thinking; mental inclination or character
his weird mentality
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Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mentality
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How does mentality compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A mentality is a way of thinking or the ability to think and learn. If someone says you have the mentality of a kindergartener, that's great if you’re in kindergarten, but if you're in tenth grade, they're probably calling you immature. An obvious part of the noun mentality is the word "mental," which means "of the mind." How your mind works is your mentality, either in a way that's measured in school or testing, or in the way you think about things. A learned way of thinking comes from experiences; for example you might have a competitive mentality at mealtime because you share a table with nine brothers and sisters.
Vocabulary lists containing mentality
Farewell to Manzanar
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Ten Words from Today's Times - March 15, 2012
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Our America
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“You feel his presence in terms of the mentality of the group and how he pushes and pushes and pushes,” Riley said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The contrast between restrained facades and secretive decoration gets to the heart of the Genoese mentality, says Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, who divides his time between his native Genoa and Paris.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Marco points to his son's "very strong" mentality.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
"So, that's the basement. Everybody who will be selected on the pitch has to play with big integrity. The mentality and the desire to represent the country is the most important."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
C. P. Snow recalled how once in a Cambridge tailor’s he overheard Rutherford remark: "Every day I grow in girth. And in mentality."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Executing the plan requires rewiring mentalities, erasing almost a generation’s worth of habits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
This is Ms Viou's way to "change mentalities" about food from Africa.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2024
“There are different mentalities after winning and losing, and you have to understand that,” he said Thursday.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2023
There are some hateful mentalities not worth interrogating.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2023
They—and he—cared about one thing; this fusion of their mentalities oriented their attention on the hill, the climb, the need to ascend.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
