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general::
noun ADJ. conciliatory, favourable, friendly, positive, responsible, right, sympathetic She seems to have the right attitude for the job. | aggressive, bad, belligerent, cavalier, critical, hostile, irreverent, negative, patronizing, wrong | carefree, casual, flexible, laid-back, liberal, relaxed The teachers seem to have a very relaxed attitude towards discipline. | conservative, inflexible, rigid, uncompromising | ambivalent | general, prevailing, public The general attitude of the public is sympathetic. | changing | mental, moral, sexual VERB + ATTITUDE adopt, have, take The government has taken a positive attitude to this problem. | change The experience changed his attitude to religion. ATTITUDE + VERB exist, persist, prevail This sort of attitude exists among certain groups of people. | change ATTITUDE + NOUN problem At school he was thought to have an attitude problem. PREP. ~ about changing attitudes about death | ~ of an attitude of confidence and trust Youth is simply an attitude of mind. | ~ to/towards There has been a marked change in attitude towards the European single currency. PHRASES a change in/of attitude, with attitude (informal) (= having a confident, aggressive attitude that challenges what people think) a rock band with attitude
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
attitude
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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