state of mind

[ steytuhv mahynd ]
See synonyms for state of mind on Thesaurus.com
idiom
  1. a person’s mental or emotional condition, especially at a given point in time:Subtle touches like scratched-out mistakes and underlined words can give us insight into the author’s state of mind while she was writing.The state of mind or mental stability of the defendant also needs to be taken into consideration.

  2. a general outlook on life, the world, the future, etc.: Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind.Marriage is a state of mind and a way of life.

Origin of state of mind

1
First recorded in 1630–40

Words Nearby state of mind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use state of mind in a sentence

  • He had laid aside the old red hell-fire dogma for a new one of hell-as-a-state-of-mind.

    In a Little Town | Rupert Hughes