Attitudes refers to settled ways of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically reflected in behavior or posture. It denotes a mental or emotional orientation that colors judgments and actions, often shaping how a person engages with others or interprets events. The term encompasses beliefs, dispositions, and habitual stances that influence response patterns in social or professional contexts.
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"Her attitudes toward teamwork improved after the training."
"Public attitudes toward climate policy have shifted recently."
"He dismissed productive criticism, clinging to outdated attitudes."
"The manager encouraged a positive attitude to foster innovation."
Attitude comes from Late Latin habitus, meaning ‘a condition or posture’, which in turn derives from the French attitude in the 16th century, originally referring to posture or disposition. The English word attitud(e)ed emerged to describe a settled mental state or stance, aligning with its use in philosophy and social psychology to indicate a predisposition toward a particular viewpoint. The plural form attitudes developed through standard English pluralization rules in the 18th to 19th centuries as discussions of belief systems and social comportment became more common in literature and academic discourse. Over time, the sense broadened from physical posture and outward bearing to include internal beliefs and habitual mental leanings, particularly in social and organizational contexts. First known uses appear in 18th-century British writings where scholars used attitude to describe a person’s posture during rhetoric or debate, later expanding to abstract dispositions in modern psychology and sociology texts by the 20th century.
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Words that rhyme with "attitudes"
-des sounds
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Pronounce as /ˈæt.ɪ.tjuːdz/ in US and UK; in quick speech, many speakers merge the final /juː/ with /d/ to /ˈætiˌtjuːdz/ or reduce to /ˈætɪˌtjuːdz/. Emphasize the first syllable: ATT-it-oods. Mouth positions: start with a light open front lax vowel /æ/ for the first syllable, then a short /ɪ/ in the second, and a rounded /tjuː/ cluster before the final /dz/. See audio references for verification.
Common errors: (1) Over-splitting the /ˈæt.ɪ.tjuːdz/ into four equal beats, making it sound labored; (2) Pronouncing /tj/ as two separate consonants /t/ + /j/ without the correct /tj/ blending, leading to /ætɪdʒuːdz/; (3) Weak final /dz/ or a devoiced ending; to fix: ensure the /t/ and /j/ blend into a single /tjuː/ sequence and finish with a clear /dz/.
US: /əˈtɪtjuːdz/, rhotic with clear /r/ not involved; UK: /ˈætɪ.tjuːdz/ with non-rhotic r-less ending in many regional accents; AU: /əˈtɪt.juːdz/ with Australian vowel quality and noticeable /tj/ cluster; all share the /tjuː/ middle but vowel length and rhythm vary; keep the primary stress on the first syllable.
The difficulty lies in the /tjuː/ cluster after the second syllable and the final /dz/ sound. English learners often misplace stress, or treat /tj/ as separate /t/ and /j/ rather than a blended affricate, or reduce the /juː/ to /uː/. Paid attention to mouth shaping: lips rounded for /juː/, tongue blade for /t/, and ensure the final voiced alveolar affricate /dz/ is audible.
A notable feature is the /tj/ sequence that blends a /t/ with a palatal-influenced /j/ into a /tjuː/ sound. This is followed by a voiced alveolar sibilant /dz/. Many speakers devoice final /dz/ slightly in rapid speech, so practice maintaining voicing while keeping the /tj/ blend clear. IPA cue: /ˈæt.ɪ.tjuːdz/.
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