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manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind:
a negative attitude; group attitudes.
position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.:
a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.
Aeronautics. the inclination of the three principal axes of an aircraft relative to the wind, to the ground, etc.
Ballet. a pose in which the dancer stands on one leg, the other bent behind.
Contemporary Examples

This is how I expected my attitude to remain after the election.
Looking for Mr. Far Right Meghan McCain March 1, 2009

If such an attitude is meant to intimidate Muslim women, good luck.
Women Fight Back: Don’t Ban the Veil! Sheema Khan April 7, 2010

It was a delightful, counterintuitive concept, perfectly suited to the philosophy, attitude, and technology of the Internet.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story Walter Isaacson October 18, 2014

But there are other tweaks to attitude and policy that can be made.
Legal, Regulated Heroin Could Have Saved Philip Seymour Hoffman Valerie Vande Panne February 17, 2014

But the admissions officer’s attitude is, ‘Oh, he just applied here as a safety.
Dirty Secrets of College Admissions Kathleen Kingsbury January 8, 2009

Historical Examples

The anger had ebbed from Dan’s brain, although his attitude had not relaxed.
The Destroyer Burton Egbert Stevenson

Something in the agent’s attitude of literary absorption aggravated him.
Days Off Henry Van Dyke

What does it imply as regards his attitude towards all women?
The Daughters of Danaus Mona Caird

The Freshman’s past attitude had paved the way for a different answer.
Stanford Stories Charles K. Field

Now in philosophy this attitude of mind has not as yet been achieved.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays Bertrand Russell

noun
the way a person views something or tends to behave towards it, often in an evaluative way
a theatrical pose created for effect (esp in the phrase strike an attitude)
a position of the body indicating mood or emotion
(informal) a hostile manner: don’t give me attitude, my girl
the orientation of an aircraft’s axes in relation to some plane, esp the horizontal See also axis1 (sense 1)
the orientation of a spacecraft in relation to its direction of motion
(ballet) a classical position in which the body is upright and one leg raised and bent behind
n.

1660s, via French attitude (17c.), from Italian attitudine “disposition, posture,” also “aptness, promptitude,” from Late Latin aptitudinem (nominative aptitudo; see aptitude). 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 by 1962 in slang.

attitude at·ti·tude (āt’ĭ-tōōd’, -tyōōd’)
n.

The position of the body and limbs; posture.

A manner of acting.

A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a characteristic way.

noun

A resentful and hostile manner; pugnacity (Black & prison)

Related Terms

have an attitude