attitudeat‧ti‧tude /ˈætɪtjuːd $ -tuːd/ ●●● S2 W1 AWL noun 
As soon as they found out I was a doctor, their whole attitude changed.attitude to/towards The people have a very positive attitude to life.2[uncountable] informal a style of dressing, behaving etc that shows you have the confidence to do unusual and exciting things without caring what other people thinkwith attitude a coat with attitude—attitudinal /ˌætəˈtjuːdənəl $ -ˈtuː-/ adjectiveCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesgood/bad· a lazy student with a bad attitudepositive/negative· A positive attitude is essential if you want to be successful.· Many teenagers have a very negative attitude towards cooking.relaxed· On Bali, there is a healthier, more relaxed attitude to life.favourable (=having a good opinion of something or someone)· Older people tend to have a favourable attitude to the police.critical (=showing you disagree with or disapprove of someone or something)· People’s attitude towards US foreign policy has become increasingly critical.ambivalent (=not sure if you approve of something)· The public have a rather ambivalent attitude towards science.cavalier (=very careless, especially about something serious or important)· his cavalier attitude to the truthpatronizing/condescending (=showing that you think you are more important or intelligent than someone)· complaints about patronising attitudes towards womenaggressive/hostile (=showing anger)· Their attitude suddenly became more aggressive.public attitudes/people’s attitudes· Public attitudes have changed.political attitudes· a survey of people’s political attitudesmental attitude· There is a strong connection between health and mental attitude.somebody’s whole attitude· His whole attitude seemed different.the general attitude· His general attitude to our situation was unsympathetic.verbshave/take/adopt an attitude· Not everyone takes a positive attitude towards modern art.somebody’s attitude changes· As you get older, your attitude changes.an attitude exists· This attitude no longer exists in the church.somebody’s attitude hardens (=they feel less sympathy and they want to be stricter or firmer)· People’s attitudes towards sex offenders have hardened.phrasesan attitude of mind British English (=a way of thinking)· Being young is simply an attitude of mind.somebody has an attitude problem (=someone is not helpful or pleasant to be with)· Some of the male students have a real attitude problem.
WORD ORIGINattitude
Origin:
1600-1700 French, Late Latin aptitudo ‘fitness’, from Latin aptus; ➔ APTEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- His attitude to his new job seemed to be very negative.
- I don't understand your attitude. Why don't you like her?
- In order to change attitudes towards employing women, the government is bringing in new laws.
- Officials took the attitude that the problem was not their responsibility.
- Since the 1960s, there has been a big change in people's attitudes to sex before marriage.
- Some of the guys have a real macho attitude.
- The book explains some of the attitudes and values of the Victorians.
- The team just came out for the second half with a different attitude.
- They maintained an attitude of defiance to social conventions.
- What I don't need is somebody with an attitude problem.
- When I told them I was a doctor their whole attitude changed.
- And Frye had very little confidence in his ability to transform attitudes.
- He had attitude, the right stuff, like a nineteenth-century beatnik.
- It is an attitude that reeks of strength and self-confidence.
- Piaget contends that the basis for social interchange is a reciprocity of attitudes and values between the young child and others.
- Pity that this convoluted attitude towards violence doesn't prevail in all Slavic societies today.
- So there may be something in the advice to take a positive attitude.
- The crux of the matter is that attitudes on the character and scope of planning have changed.
- This has tended to foster a very negative attitude towards this form of provision and the staff who work in such units.
THESAURUS
what you think about something or someone: · People didn’t usually ask his opinion about anything.· She has rather a low opinion of young people.
your opinion about a serious or important issue: · She has strong views about education.· In my view, footballers are paid too much.
your opinion, especially when this is influenced by the situation you are in: · From a farmer’s point of view, foxes are a nuisance.· It all depends on your point of view.
the official opinion of a government, political party, or someone in authority: · The prime minister has made his position perfectly clear.· The party has changed its position on nuclear weapons.
your opinions and feelings about something or someone, especially when this shows in your behaviour: · My parents and I have very different attitudes to life.· It was his attitude to women that shocked me.
an opinion that one group of people have about a subject, especially when this is different from that of another group: · There is one school of thought that says that coffee is addictive and is therefore a bad thing.· There are two schools of thought on this.
Longman Language Activatorwhat you think about something · Please phone in with your comments and opinions.· Opinions vary widely on this matter.opinion of · The rating a film gets reflects the opinions of our reviewers.my/your/her etc opinion · Do you really want my opinion?· He acknowledged that he had no evidence to support his opinion.opinion on/about · They have very different opinions about religion.· Many board members said they had no opinion on Goldman's proposal.in my/our etc opinion · In my opinion, most lawyers are overpaid.· This is, in the opinion of the critics, their best record for years.have a high/low opinion of something/somebody (=think somethingor someone is good or bad) · Politicians generally have a low opinion of the press.give/express an opinion · About 100 people showed up to express their opinions about the project.ask somebody's opinion · In 10 years of teaching, I have never been asked my opinion on any matter of policy.somebody is entitled to their opinion (=say this when you disagree with someone else's opinion) · He's entitled to his opinion, of course, but it does not give him the right to be offensive.be of the opinion that (=have a particular opinion) formal · The coroner was of the opinion that the man had been dead for only 24 hours.
especially spoken your opinion about something, especially whether you think it is good or bad: · What do you think of her new CD?· Tell me what you think about the design.· No one ever really stops and asks kids what they think about things.· Well, I know what I think, but you might not agree.
your opinion about something, especially about a serious or important subject: · It is natural for children to have different views from their parents.view that: · I don't agree with the view that longer prison sentences stop people from committing crime.in my/his/John's etc view: · In Freud's view, people's dreams often reveal their unconscious fears.view about/on: · Malthus will always be known mainly for his views on population.· The survey reflected a very conservative view about what the ideal family structure should be.express a view: · Stein was expressing the view of many fellow war veterans.take a view that: · Most nineteenth century scientists took the view that the universe had no purpose or meaning.
what you think and feel about something or someone, especially when this is shown in the way you behave towards them: · I don't understand your attitude. Why don't you like her?· The book explains some of the attitudes and values of the Victorians.attitude to/towards: · Since the 1960s, there has been a big change in people's attitudes to sex before marriage.take the attitude that: · Officials took the attitude that the problem was not their responsibility.
your opinion about something, especially about what should be done about it, after you have thought about it carefully: thoughts about/on: · Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions about how we should spend the money?· I was anxious to hear his thoughts on the scenes I had written.have thoughts: · Please get back to me with any thoughts you might have on this.
what you think about something, especially when you have very strong or angry feelings about it: · He makes decisions without ever taking my feelings into account.feelings about: · Kids' feelings about everything from reading to exercise are influenced by their parents.strong feelings: · She has very strong feelings about this election.
what you think about something, especially about the best way to deal with something: · I'm not sure his ideas will be very popular with the voters.ideas about/on: · His ideas about marriage and divorce were very old-fashioned.· I'd like your ideas on how we can improve our working relationship.
especially written an opinion, especially one that is based on emotion: · The speeches were full of nationalist sentiments.· Most people were outraged by the bombing, and their letters of sympathy reflected this sentiment.public/popular sentiment (=what most people think): · Several meetings were held to determine what public sentiment was on the issue.
the way you generally think about something · When I told them I was a doctor their whole attitude changed.· What I don't need is somebody with an attitude problem.attitude to/towards · His attitude to his new job seemed to be very negative.· In order to change attitudes towards employing women, the government is bringing in new laws.attitude of · They maintained an attitude of defiance to social conventions.
an attitude that a particular group of people has, which makes them behave in a way that you think is stupid or wrong: · I don't understand the mentality of these teenagers.· She despised the bourgeois mentality of the professional class.· You know, I wonder if this is a male kind of mentality.
the attitude of a person or group, especially about what other people should or should not do: · You'll come to understand my way of thinking when you're my age and you have your own children to worry about.· I was glad to be with people who shared my way of thinking.
someone's general attitude to life: · After a good vacation, you'll have a completely different outlook.· The farmers were narrowly provincial in their outlook.outlook on (=attitude to life etc): · His outlook on life is largely a result of his strict education.
the attitude that a person, group or nation has towards life or the world: · The traditional Indian world view is based on certain definite concepts.· the Communist world view· He believes the change in the world view has occurred because of the new developments in communications.
the way a particular person or group tends to think, especially when this is difficult to change: · The residents of this city have an insular mindset, so strangers are not always made welcome.· The mindset of that generation was definitely more obedient than today's.· There does seem to have been a slight shift in the government's mindset in the light of recent events.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives a blinkered attitude to other cultures a cavalier attitude to the laws a complacent attitude towards the problem a devil-may-care attitude to life a deeply entrenched belief in male superiority his hostile attitude He is famed for his laid-back attitude. You need to develop a positive mental attitude. She has a fairly relaxed approach to housework.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· a lazy student with a bad attitude
· A positive attitude is essential if you want to be successful.· Many teenagers have a very negative attitude towards cooking.
· On Bali, there is a healthier, more relaxed attitude to life.
(=having a good opinion of something or someone)· Older people tend to have a favourable attitude to the police.
(=showing you disagree with or disapprove of someone or something)· People’s attitude towards US foreign policy has become increasingly critical.
(=not sure if you approve of something)· The public have a rather ambivalent attitude towards science.
(=very careless, especially about something serious or important)· his cavalier attitude to the truth
(=showing that you think you are more important or intelligent than someone)· complaints about patronising attitudes towards women
(=showing anger)· Their attitude suddenly became more aggressive.
· Public attitudes have changed.
· a survey of people’s political attitudes
· There is a strong connection between health and mental attitude.
· His whole attitude seemed different.
· His general attitude to our situation was unsympathetic.
verbs· Not everyone takes a positive attitude towards modern art.
· As you get older, your attitude changes.
· This attitude no longer exists in the church.
(=they feel less sympathy and they want to be stricter or firmer)· People’s attitudes towards sex offenders have hardened.
phrases British English (=a way of thinking)· Being young is simply an attitude of mind.
(=someone is not helpful or pleasant to be with)· Some of the male students have a real attitude problem.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a blinkered attitude to other cultures a cavalier attitude to the laws· Changing attitudes cause traditional ways of life to disappear.
a complacent attitude towards the problem a devil-may-care attitude to life a deeply entrenched belief in male superiority his hostile attitude He is famed for his laid-back attitude. You need to develop a positive mental attitude.· Having a positive attitude makes life so much better.
She has a fairly relaxed approach to housework.· The same thing may explain the cricket establishment's ambivalent attitude towards the one-day matches that have shoved themselves on to the scene.· The first concerns her obsession with purity and her ambivalent attitude towards it.· Equally ambivalent were local attitudes to the wholesale billeting in Sussex of regular troops and other county militias during invasion scares.· I've always had a rather ambivalent attitude towards something happening to my father, and it persists.· We find in Charles, however, an ambivalent attitude.· Enlil had an ambivalent attitude to mankind.· At the moment, the public has a rather ambivalent attitude toward science.· One of the consequences of this is an ambivalent attitude to black immigrants.
· The engineers are not cavalier in their attitude towards the women they employ to do part of their domestic work and childcare.· A cavalier attitude to purdah was one thing; for a woman to be seen exposing her nether regions quite another.· It was the traditional way of avoiding the consequences of such cavalier an attitude to the obligation of Paying Your Way.· This cavalier attitude assumes that people know how much inflation to expect.
· One of the fundamental ways of changing attitudes is through information.· Clearly, the post-industrial world is changing attitudes as well as places.· The useful introduction discusses changing attitudes to the depiction of nature.· These changing attitudes can be seen as part of the general reaction against the older voluntarism.· Despite pulling the elevator back and the aeroplane changing attitude, it carried on, sinking fast.· The essence of this constitutional malaise was the changing attitude of the young towards those in authority.· That is to say, certain action schools were successful in changing attitudes, while others were successful in shifting option choices.
· I actually felt a different athlete, with a different attitude.· Its traditional civilization, which already embodied many different beliefs and attitudes, acquired new religious elements from outside.· Today, however, especially among the younger generation, we see a very different set of attitudes in western countries.· But the replace-ments came in with a different attitude.· Each section contains Pip's different attitudes to life.· It meant, quite simply, those people with a different attitude toward life.· In terms of the leadership style factors described in Chapter 10, different attitudes arise from different responsibilities.· With the epidemics came greater knowledge and a different attitude toward the disease, reflected in the change in its name.
· The extent to which bereavement is worked through depends on self-awareness, external support, professional help and general attitudes.· His general attitude toward the public is, just give him his millions and leave him alone.· Perceptions such as these would have affected general conduct and attitude.· We wish to make statements, based on those separate interviews, about the general state of attitudes in these nations.· His general attitude is one of an untiring and immense courtesy and helpfulness.· A Buddhist monk offered prayers for their health and happiness in contrast to the royal couple's general downcast attitude.· But condescension was the general attitude.· Furthermore, the unfavourable climate may have repercussions on the general attitudes to the black population in the United Kingdom.
· A combination of lax discipline and hostile attitudes on the part of both parents encourages very aggressive and poorly controlled behaviour in their offspring.· Emily paced around the book-lined study and blamed her father for his hostile attitude to Craig.· Punitive methods persistently used against a background of rejecting, hostile parental attitudes lead, in the long term, to trouble.· Given Ben Silcock's apparently hostile attitude to authority, how would supervision work?· These found, in the main, that Blacks had a consistently more hostile attitude to the police.· It was therefore a shock to face such hostile and patronising attitudes when I arrived.· Her first impressions, she supposed, had been gained merely from his hostile attitude at the fountain.
· Once we started trekking we soon discovered that mental attitude and camaraderie were far more important than physical fitness.· Are they part of your mental attitude that might defeat you in your desire to change?· The coach was right, his mental attitude was right.· A positive mental attitude is needed by each fighter at this point.· Attention was given to planning, diet, fitness and mental attitude, the latter under the guidance of a sports psychologist.· A further factor which can have an effect on the results of an experiment is the mental attitude of the experimenter.· Such mental attitudes may be wholly unconscious and are difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate.
· Since women in general have less social prestige than men, this in itself tends to reinforce negative attitudes to the elderly.· Her work suffered and her supervisor noticed an unusually negative attitude towards colleagues and customers alike.· This has tended to foster a very negative attitude towards this form of provision and the staff who work in such units.· This negative attitude can extend into all areas of life.· Many of the female students had been academic failures at school and had negative attitudes to teachers.· Such questions indicate how complex and deeply rooted are some of our negative attitudes to the aged.· This will do more to inspire public confidence than the prison officers' negative attitude.· Deaf people also imagined hearing people to hold more negative attitudes than they actually did.
· Employment; Political behaviour and attitudes.· We need a shift in cultural and political attitudes about parking lots.· Third, there is the question of the military's political attitude.· The political personality approach assumes that knowledge of the relevant personality traits will enable the analyst to understand political attitudes and behavior.· Occupations and professions; Political behaviour and attitudes.· In this view, persistence is the rule for political attitudes and behaviors that are learned early.· We can relate specific adult political attitudes and behavioral propensities to the manifest and latent political socialization experiences of childhood.
· A positive attitude towards ageing doesn't happen overnight, it comes with age.· For Dexter Yager and for millions of businessmen andwomen like him, success begins with a positive attitude.· Third, recognise that the moment you lose your positive attitude you are victimising yourself. 4.· One reason is that employers and trade unions are pressing for a more positive attitude towards the euro.· Their positive, cooperative attitude contributes to their output as well as that of their colleagues.· Such a positive attitude will override any negative thoughts.· The power to inspire a positive attitude in others is a priceless professional asset.
· In such research, exact statistics of public attitudes are of small importance.· He also conceded that public attitudes about smoking are shifting.· Adoption has decreased dramatically during 20 years as a reflection of changes in legislation and public attitudes.· In Gloucestershire, the number of positive pre-Christmas breath tests has halved in 6 years, reflecting a public change of attitude.· Public relations is a continuing activity which is sensitive to a changing market-place, public attitudes and national and international events.· Those countries where public attitudes are most tolerant are those where homosexuals are most visible, and gay groups most active.· Polls in the state of public opinion and attitudes offered contrary findings.· It is reasonable to expect that public attitudes and beliefs about attempted suicide will affect its incidence.
· In spite of victory, Britain's participation in two world wars accelerated social changes, altering both social attitudes and power relations.· Changing social attitudes and holding people responsible for their behavior is what leads to real change.· In any event, social attitudes towards teacher authority appear to be changing.· People brought up and educated in different decades hold different social values and attitudes.· It is not only a question of social attitudes to divorce.· The social nature of attitudes can be seen, not only by their context, but also by their content.· Let us begin with social attitudes to ageing.
NOUN· Apply coarse nose down trim with each attitude change and as the speed increases. 4.· Social Psychology was built on studies of voter behavior, social power, and attitude change.· Corrections to maintain the glide path are made with attitude changes of a quarter to half a bar.· However, this view was challenged by evidence that political learning and attitude change do continue throughout adult life.· The second piece of evidence lies in the field of attitude change.· This correction will be achieved with a pitch attitude change of half a bar on the Artificial Horizon.· One scene on the tour summed up the attitude change.· Coordinators' unanimity about attitude change in their schools is significant for two reasons.
VERB· I am disappointed the policy review has adopted such a negative attitude both to a Bill of Rights and electoral reform.· Encourage employees to adopt a problem-solving attitude when discussing sensitive issues.· The least they did was to adopt a laissez-faire attitude or one of deliberate non-interference so that the women felt free of pressure.· A society that widely adopts this attitude is in trouble.· Indeed it would have been quite impossible for it to have adopted any other attitude.· Nearly 75 percent of all adults believe that depressed people can recover on their own by just adopting a positive attitude.· Cynics - who adopt their attitude as a defence to protect themselves against their hopes being dashed - may ridicule you.· That is what we seek to do, rather than adopting a defeatist attitude to the delivery of health care.
· What actions express an attitude is largely a matter of social convention.· Academic people can express a caring attitude by applying or sharing information, especially their insights or conclusions, freely with others.· They may, but need not, express themselves in one's attitude towards the law.· Cecil had expressed his own attitude at great length and less clarity a year or two before this.
· His game reflects an attitude with shots crisp, incisively biting.· The black jurors who voted to acquit Simpson reflected the attitudes of their communities and brought their life experiences into the courtroom.· However, she felt that this was artificial and did not reflect their real attitudes.· The second is a measure of the depth and severity of partisan cleavage, reflected in attitudes toward marriage across party lines.· His performance in the job was to reflect that attitude.· Our thoughts on dying, of course, reflect our attitudes toward life.· Between them they reflect some of the attitudes and show some of the suffering of the period.· This has been reflected in the attitude of the National Front towards new commonwealth citizens in the United Kingdom in recent times.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► colour somebody’s judgment/opinions/attitudes etc► cop an attitude
- Can a school board adopt a policy prohibiting dancing at school?
- He also agreed to adopt policies on affirmative action and ethics.
- It is essential that these countries, too, adopt policies that will help to protect the Ozone Layer.
- It is very hard convincing powers like the World Bank to adopt policies that truly help the poorest.
- No-Layoff Policies Perhaps the best way to secure union cooperation is to adopt a policy of no layoffs.
- Their purpose is to influence government to adopt policies favourable to them.
- This structure can neither impose law upon its members nor force one of them to adopt a policy with which it disagrees.
- Ultimately, planners adopted a policy of non-violence.
- After the Williams Report, it was very hard to argue convincingly for a laissez-faire approach to screen entertainment.
- In the light of this we briefly consider rules and laissez-faire approaches to mergers as alternatives to that of pragmatic cost-benefit.
- Market-orientated, almost laissez-faire attitudes figured ever more prominently in the Conservative Party when in opposition in the 1970s.
- Proponents of this laissez-faire approach have however themselves been challenged.
- The least they did was to adopt a laissez-faire attitude or one of deliberate non-interference so that the women felt free of pressure.
- Thus we might expect to move gradually to a more participative or laissez-faire approach.
- Sometimes, striking an attitude against an Italianate blue sky, Wandsworth looked magnificent.
WORD FAMILYnounattitudeadjectiveattitudinal
1[countable, uncountable] the opinions and feelings that you usually have about something, especially when this is shown in your behaviour: As soon as they found out I was a doctor, their whole attitude changed.attitude to/towards The people have a very positive attitude to life.2[uncountable] informal a style of dressing, behaving etc that shows you have the confidence to do unusual and exciting things without caring what other people thinkwith attitude a coat with attitude—attitudinal /ˌætəˈtjuːdənəl $ -ˈtuː-/ adjectiveCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesgood/bad· a lazy student with a bad attitudepositive/negative· A positive attitude is essential if you want to be successful.· Many teenagers have a very negative attitude towards cooking.relaxed· On Bali, there is a healthier, more relaxed attitude to life.favourable (=having a good opinion of something or someone)· Older people tend to have a favourable attitude to the police.critical (=showing you disagree with or disapprove of someone or something)· People’s attitude towards US foreign policy has become increasingly critical.ambivalent (=not sure if you approve of something)· The public have a rather ambivalent attitude towards science.cavalier (=very careless, especially about something serious or important)· his cavalier attitude to the truthpatronizing/condescending (=showing that you think you are more important or intelligent than someone)· complaints about patronising attitudes towards womenaggressive/hostile (=showing anger)· Their attitude suddenly became more aggressive.public attitudes/people’s attitudes· Public attitudes have changed.political attitudes· a survey of people’s political attitudesmental attitude· There is a strong connection between health and mental attitude.somebody’s whole attitude· His whole attitude seemed different.the general attitude· His general attitude to our situation was unsympathetic.verbshave/take/adopt an attitude· Not everyone takes a positive attitude towards modern art.somebody’s attitude changes· As you get older, your attitude changes.an attitude exists· This attitude no longer exists in the church.somebody’s attitude hardens (=they feel less sympathy and they want to be stricter or firmer)· People’s attitudes towards sex offenders have hardened.phrasesan attitude of mind British English (=a way of thinking)· Being young is simply an attitude of mind.somebody has an attitude problem (=someone is not helpful or pleasant to be with)· Some of the male students have a real attitude problem.