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attitude
7 dictionary results for: attitude
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

at⋅ti⋅tude

[at-i-tood, -tyood]
–noun
1. manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. 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.

Origin:
1660–70; < F < It attitudine < LL aptitūdini- (s. of aptitūdō) aptitude
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
at·ti·tude     (āt'ĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself: stood in a graceful attitude. See Synonyms at posture.
    1. A state of mind or a feeling; disposition: had a positive attitude about work.
    2. An arrogant or hostile state of mind or disposition.
  2. The orientation of an aircraft's axes relative to a reference line or plane, such as the horizon.
  3. The orientation of a spacecraft relative to its direction of motion.
  4. A position similar to an arabesque in which a ballet dancer stands on one leg with the other raised either in front or in back and bent at the knee.

[French, from Italian attitudine, from Late Latin aptitūdō, aptitūdin-, faculty; see aptitude.]
at'ti·tu'di·nal (-tōōd'n-əl, -tyōōd'-) adj., at'ti·tu'di·nal·ly adv.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
attitude 
1668, via Fr., from It. attitudine "disposition, posture," also "aptness, promptitude," from L.L. aptitudinem (nom. aptitudo), noun of quality from L. aptus "fit" (see apt). Originally 17c. a technical term in art for the posture of a figure in a statue or painting; later generalized to "a posture of the body supposed to imply some mental state" (1725). Sense of "settled behavior reflecting feeling or opinion" is first recorded 1837. Connotations of "antagonistic and uncooperative" developed 1962 in slang.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
attitude

noun
1. a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways; "he had the attitude that work was fun" 
2. the arrangement of the body and its limbs; "he assumed an attitude of surrender" [syn: position
3. a theatrical pose created for effect; "the actor struck just the right attitude" 
4. position of aircraft or spacecraft relative to a frame of reference (the horizon or direction of motion) 

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

attitude at·ti·tude (āt'ĭ-t&oomacr;d', -ty&oomacr;d')
n.

  1. The position of the body and limbs; posture.
  2. A manner of acting.
  3. A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a characteristic way.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: at·ti·tude
Pronunciation: 'at-&-"t(y)üd
Function: noun
1 : the arrangement of the parts of the body : POSTURE
2 a : a mental position with regard to a fact or state b : a feeling or emotiontoward a fact or state
3 : an organismic state of readiness to respond in a characteristic way to a stimulus (as an object, concept, or situation)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Attitude

At"ti*tude\, n. [It. attitudine, LL. aptitudo, fr. L. aptus suited, fitted: cf. F. attitude. Cf. Aptitude.]

1. (Paint. & Sculp.) The posture, action, or disposition of a figure or a statue.

2. The posture or position of a person or an animal, or the manner in which the parts of his body are disposed; position assumed or studied to serve a purpose; as, a threatening attitude; an attitude of entreaty.

3. Fig.: Position as indicating action, feeling, or mood; as, in times of trouble let a nation preserve a firm attitude; one's mental attitude in respect to religion.

The attitude of the country was rapidly changing. --J. R. Green.

To strike an attitude, to take an attitude for mere effect.

Syn: Attitude, Posture.

Usage: Both of these words describe the visible disposition of the limbs. Posture relates to their position merely; attitude refers to their fitness for some specific object. The object of an attitude is to set forth exhibit some internal feeling; as, attitude of wonder, of admiration, of grief, etc. It is, therefore, essentially and designedly expressive. Its object is the same with that of gesture; viz., to hold forth and represent. Posture has no such design. If we speak of posture in prayer, or the posture of devotion, it is only the natural disposition of the limbs, without any intention to show forth or exhibit.

'T is business of a painter in his choice of attitudes (positur[ae]) to foresee the effect and harmony of the lights and shadows. --Dryden.

Never to keep the body in the same posture half an hour at a time. --Bacon.

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