attitude

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From French attitude, from Italian attitudine (“attitude, aptness”), from Medieval Latin aptitudo (“aptitude”); see aptitude.

Pronunciation [edit]

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Noun [edit]

attitude (countable and uncountable; plural attitudes)

  1. The position of the body or way of carrying oneself; posture.
    The ballet dancer walked with a graceful attitude
  2. Disposition or state of mind.
    ... but had a lazy attitude to work.
  3. (uncountable, countable) A negative, irritating, or irritated attitude; posturing.
    Don't give me your attitude.
    You've got some attitude, girl !
  4. (aeronautics, nautical, engineering) The orientation of a vehicle or other object relative to the horizon, direction of motion, other objects, etc.
    The airliner had to land with a nose-up attitude after the incident.
    • 1982, Thomas Charles Gillmer, Bruce Johnson, Introduction to naval architecture, page 286:
      The stern planes are located well aft of the center of gravity of the submarine and their primary purpose is attitude (trim) control
    • 1997, Paul J. Ciolino, Grace Elting Castle, Advanced Forensic Civil Investigations, page 109:
      Scratches should be closely analyzed to determine the attitudes of the boats at the time of initial contact.
    • 1999, Smart Materials Structures of Systems, ISBN 8170239583, page 307:
      The main aim of the development of the smart antenna model is to stabilize attitude of the antenna which is mounted on a platform or host structure.
  5. (ballet) A position similar to arabesque, but with the raised leg bent at the knee.
    • 2007, Gayle Kassing, History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach, page 134,
      Blasis was a man of many accomplishments. He invented the ballet position of attitude and codified the ballet technique of that time, distinguishing three types of dancers: the serious, the demi-caractère, and the comic dancer.

Synonyms [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

position of the body or way of carrying oneself
disposition or state of mind
ballet position similar to arabesque but with raised leg bent at the knee
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

attitude (third-person singular simple present attitudes, present participle attituding, simple past and past participle attituded)

  1. To assume or to place in a particular position or orientation; to pose.
    • 1823, Felix M'Donogh, The Hermit Abroad, Volume 1, page 122,
      […] nymphs of quality, formed for the offices of love and of conversation, are attituded about her, each star set as it were in surrounding satellites of admirers ; […]
    • 1837, William E. Burton, The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 1, page 123,
      Attituded like an inspired curling-tongs, leaning back heavily on his right leg, and throwing forward his left, his arm elevated to a level with his shoulder, the clenched fist grasping a brush that might have been available in […]
    • 1971, American Astronautical Society, Advances in Astronautical Sciences, Volume 29, Part 2, page 395,
      The attituded control gyro package, electronics, APS gas supply, and the preentry electronics are mounted internally, and are distributed circumferentially at the major ring.
  2. To express an attitude through one's posture, bearing, tone of voice, etc.
    • 2002, Wayne Normis, The Last Street Fighter, page 33,
      He attituded his way over to me, got up close, and just stood there looking at me, trying to appear threatening.
    • 2008, Yvonne Müller, "The Absentee": an Interpretation - an Analysis of Maria Edgeworth's Novel, page 12,
      The typical characteristic attituded toward the English is coldness.
    • 2010, R. Scott, Nine Months and a Year Later, page 82,
      I was really tripping, 'cause this nigga had the nerve to be attituded up when he was the one always doing something he had no business doing.

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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