To make positive changes in your life and how you respond to challenges, you need to see where you are now. How do you react when things go wrong? How do you respond to people who criticize, undermine, or betray you? The attitudes you choose are the precursor to the actions you take. Knowing your go-to attitudes can help you identify better ones.
What Are the Attitudes of a Human?
Attitudes are situational mindsets that are separate from your character and personality, though often influenced by both. You might be more disposed, for example, to respond to criticism with an aggressive attitude, or you might respond by withdrawing and acting detached or defensive. Unlike emotions, which are more often involuntary, attitudes are intentional; you choose to have a particular attitude. It doesn’t just surface in response to something else. The good news? You can choose to adopt attitudes that give you a boost in life — instead of holding you back. What’s your attitude right now?
List of Attitudes: 175 Attitude Words to Describe Your State of Mind
Enjoy the following list of words to describe attitude. Make a note of the ones that sound most familiar to you — the ones you adopt most often — as well as those you’d like to use more often than you do.
- Abrasive
- Accepting
- Adventurous
- Affectionate
- Aggressive
- Agreeable
- Aloof
- Ambivalent
- Angry
- Angsty
- Annoyed
- Anxious or Worried
- Antagonistic
- Antisocial
- Apathetic
- Arrogant
- Assertive
- Avoidant
- Awestruck
- Benevolent
- Belligerent
- Biased
- Bigoted
- Brave or Courageous
- Broadminded
- Buoyant
- Callous
- Calm
- Caring
- Cheerful
- Cheerless
- Closed-minded
- Cold / Cold-hearted
- Commanding
- Competitive
- Conceited
- Concerned
- Conciliatory
- Condescending
- Confident
- Contrarian
- Critical
- Cynical
- Dark
- Daring
- Defeatist
- Defensive
- Depressed
- Detached
- Determined
- Diplomatic
- Disdainful
- Disgusted
- Disrespectful
- Distrustful
- Empathetic
- Energetic
- Enterprising
- Enthusiastic
- Expectant
- Fearful
- Festive
- Flexible
- Flippant
- Forgiving
- Fretful
- Friendly
- Frustrated
- Furtive
- Gloomy
- Glum
- Grim
- Grounded
- Hesitant
- Hopeful
- Hopeless or Despairing
- Hostile or Inhospitable
- Humble
- Impartial
- Impatient
- Imperious
- Imperturbable
- Indifferent (to others)
- Indignant
- Inquisitive
- Insecure
- Interested
- Intransigent
- Intolerant
- Irresponsible
- Jealous
- Joyful / Joyous
- Judgmental
- Lazy
- Liberal or Generous
- Lighthearted
- Lively
- Loving
- Malevolent
- Maternal or Maternalistic
- Mean-spirited or Malicious
- Miserable
- Moralistic
- Morose
- Negative
- Neutral
- No-Nonsense
- Nihilistic
- Objective
- Obnoxious
- Obsequious
- Open / Open-minded
- Optimistic
- Overconfident
- Parsimonious
- Passionate
- Passive
- Patient
- Paternal or Paternalistic
- Patronizing
- Pessimistic
- Polite
- Positive
- Practical
- Pragmatic
- Professional
- Querulous
- Rational or Reasonable
- Reluctant
- Recalcitrant
- Resentful or Bitter
- Reserved
- Resilient
- Resistant
- Respectful
- Responsible
- Reticent
- Reverent
- Sardonic (sharp/sarcastic)
- Secretive
- Selfish
- Self-assured
- Self-effacing
- Selfless
- Self-righteous
- Serious
- Skeptical
- Sneaky
- Snobby / Snobbish
- Solemn
- Somber
- Sorrowful
- Spiteful
- Stubborn or Obstinate or Inflexible
- Suspicious
- Sympathetic
- Thoughtful
- Timid or Timorous
- Tireless or Indefatigable
- Tolerant
- Traumatized
- Trusting
- Unaffected
- Unassuming
- Unbiased or Impartial
- Understanding
- Unfriendly or Unsociable
- Unwavering or Immovable
- Unprofessional
- Vigilant or Hypervigilant
- Volatile or Explosive
- Warm or Compassionate
- Whimsical
- Willing
- Withdrawn Ambivert vs. Omnivert: 7 Key Differences In These Personalities 105 About Me Questions For An About Me Tag Game 50 Of The Best Growth Mindset Quotes For Kids And Teachers
How to Change Your Attitude
Now that you’ve looked through the entire attitude words list and identified familiar attitudes, you might be wondering, “What if, instead of getting defensive when someone criticizes me, I adopt an open-minded or patient attitude?” Or, to put it more generally, how do you swap out one attitude for a contrary one? Attitudes are intentional, after all, though they can easily become a habit. How do you build better ones?
Visualize yourself responding to a situation with a different attitude. Write about the attitudes you take and why you take them. Practice responding differently to smaller challenges and build on those wins. Build habits (like meditation) that help you see each situation more objectively. Take better care of yourself with adequate sleep, optimal nutrition, and exercise.
You now have a long list of adjectives for attitude to reference when you’re describing an attitude of your own or someone else’s. Which attitudes are you most proud of — and which would you like to exchange for others that might serve you better?
