attitude

American  

[at-i-tood, -tyood] / ˈæt ɪˌtud, -ˌtjud /

noun

• attitudes
  plural

1. manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind.

   a negative attitude; group attitudes.

2. position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc..

   a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.

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

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

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attitude British  

/ ˈætɪˌtjuːd /

noun

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

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

3. a position of the body indicating mood or emotion

4. informal a hostile manner

   don't give me attitude, my girl

5. the orientation of an aircraft's axes in relation to some plane, esp the horizontal See also axis 1

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

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

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Synonym Usage

See position.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• attitudinal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• attitudes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of attitude

First recorded in 1660–70; from French, from Italian attitudine, from Late Latin aptitūdini- (stem of aptitūdō ); see aptitude

Explanation

An attitude is somewhere between a belief, a stance, a mood, and a pose. If you've got an attitude about something, it can be hard to change it because you think you're right. You'll often hear Happy Hour referred to as "Attitude Adjustment Hour," because cheap drinks are one of the best ways to change your attitude. If you're in a bad mood, cocktails can make it better (or worse). An attitude is a way of thinking that you can express just by standing a certain way. For example, putting your hands on your hips and rolling your eyes expresses one kind of attitude, while kneeling with your palms together expresses a very different one.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attitude attitudes

The attitude that you should have as a solo artist is very clear, you have to take the lead on stage until the very end.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Mourinho claimed that the keeper had a bad attitude.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

And that risk-seeking attitude is exemplified by the action in major index options, he believes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

“In the last four years, our attitude has lightened a little bit because we are looking at the scope of the problem,” Seago told Caroline Kitchener of the New York Times.

From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026

This attitude was reinforced over the next few years, when a succession of critics, clearly Newton’s intellectual inferiors, raised a host of quibbles about his work, which showed their own ignorance more than anything else.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

A Nielsen Sports study commissioned by the IPC found that 73% of people thought the Paris Paralympic Games positively changed their attitudes toward people with disabilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

On the other hand, there’s nothing especially mysterious about those attitudes.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Jehanno believes these trends reflect a lasting change in attitudes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, seems wary of such knee-jerk rebounds, and argues that a shift in attitudes toward option trading may help explain them.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

The IAT is more than just an abstract measure of attitudes.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• angle
• approach
• belief
• demeanor
• mindset
• mood
• notion
• outlook
• perspective
• philosophy
• point of view
• position
• posture
• reaction
• sentiment
• slant
• stance
• stand
• standpoint
• temperament