Толковый словарь английского языка

[Word Family: noun: ↑attitude; adjective: ↑attitudinal]

[Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: Late Latin aptitudo 'fitness', from Latin aptus; ⇨ ↑apt]

1. [uncountable and countable] 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 think

with attitude

a coat with attitude

—attitudinal /ˌætəˈtjuːdənəl, ˌætɪˈtjuːdənəl $ -ˈtuː-/ adjective

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COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives

▪ good/bad a lazy student with a bad attitude

▪ positive/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 truth

▪ patronizing/condescending (=showing that you think you are more important or intelligent than someone) complaints about patronising attitudes towards women

▪ aggressive/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 attitudes

▪ mental attitude There is a strong connection between health and mental attitude.

▪ sb’s whole attitude His whole attitude seemed different.

▪ the general attitude His general attitude to our situation was unsympathetic.

■ verbs

▪ have/take/adopt an attitude Not everyone takes a positive attitude towards modern art.

▪ sb’s attitude changes As you get older, your attitude changes.

▪ an attitude exists This attitude no longer exists in the church.

▪ sb’s attitude hardens (=they feel less sympathy and they want to be stricter or firmer) People’s attitudes towards sex offenders have hardened.

■ phrases

▪ an 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.

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THESAURUS

▪ opinion 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.

▪ view your opinion about a serious or important issue: She has strong views about education. | In my view, footballers are paid too much.

▪ point of view 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.

▪ position 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.

▪ attitude 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.

▪ school of thought 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.