attitude

[ at-i-tood, -tyood ]

/ ˈæt ɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attitude ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.

position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.

Aeronautics. the inclination of the three principal axes of an aircraft relative to the wind, to the ground, etc.

Ballet. a pose in which the dancer stands on one leg, the other bent behind.

Nearby words

attila the hun, attingent, attire, attirement, attis, attitude, attitudinarian, attitudinize, attius, attleboro, attlee

Origin of attitude

1660–70; < French < Italian attitudine < Late Latin aptitūdini- (stem of aptitūdō) aptitude

SYNONYMS FOR attitude

2 See position.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attitude ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

at·ti·tu·di·nal, adjective

Can be confused

altitude attitude

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for attitude

I think a lot of it has to do with the attitude and the energy behind it and the honesty.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
From this attitude he draws a singular comic and literary power.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, summed up the Southern attitude in his 1861 Cornerstone Speech.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern|Lloyd Green|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Or that she probably, given her attitude toward Spotify, wants more money than that per stream if she has to let me do it?
Death of the Author by Viral Infection: In Defense of Taylor Swift, Digital Doomsayer|Arthur Chu|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Oddly enough, many who hold this “not like us” attitude are religious people.
Ferguson, Immigration, and ‘Us Vs. Them’|Gene Robinson|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a fanciful suggestion of the eavesdropper about the creature; his attitude was almost furtive.
The Hound From The North|Ridgwell Cullum
He tried to be off-hand in his attitude towards it, but did not fully succeed.
The Roll-Call|Arnold Bennett
It was Loring's attitude throughout the scene that chiefly impressed Amaldi.
Shadows of Flames|Amelie Rives
"I can't—I can't look you in the face," he stammered, his attitude perfectly corroborative of his words.
His Own People|Booth Tarkington
To Cromwell there must have been something specially galling in More's attitude of reserve.
History of the English People, Volume III (of 8)|John Richard Green

British Dictionary definitions for attitude

attitude

/ (ˈætɪˌtjuːd) /

noun

the way a person views something or tends to behave towards it, often in an evaluative way

a theatrical pose created for effect (esp in the phrase strike an attitude)

a position of the body indicating mood or emotion

informal a hostile mannerdon't give me attitude, my girl

the orientation of an aircraft's axes in relation to some plane, esp the horizontalSee also axis 1 (def. 1)

the orientation of a spacecraft in relation to its direction of motion

ballet a classical position in which the body is upright and one leg raised and bent behind

Derived Forms

attitudinal, adjective

Word Origin for attitude

C17: from French, from Italian attitudine disposition, from Late Latin aptitūdō fitness, from Latin aptus apt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for attitude

attitude

[ ăt′ĭ-tōōd′ ]

n.

The position of the body and limbs; posture.

A manner of acting.

A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a characteristic way.