mentality
nounattested in dialogue
- //mɛnˈtæləti//
- //mənˈtæləti//
- //-ɪti//
A mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs.
noun
- 1
A mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs.
Before he can succeed, he will have to shed the mentality that he can get by without hard work.
[…]with a mentality anchored in a profoundly influential and persistent hostility to central features of the Enlightment faith in the theoretical and practical autonomy of the human subject.
- 2
The characteristics of a mind described as a system of distinctive structures and processes based in biology, language, or culture, etc.; a mental system.
1978, Edward Proffitt, "Romanticism, Bicamerality, and the Evolution of the Brain", The Wordsworth Circle, Vol. 9, No.1, reprinted in Kuijsten, 2016, page 129. […] the new mentality [of Romantic poetry]...is a mentality of self-authorization.
Our mentality — whether bicameral or conscious — is thus more a function of social context, language, and forms of communication than a hard-wired neurologically-based system.
Etymology
From mental + -ity. Doublet of mentalité.
Forms
- plural
- mentalities
mentality · A mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs.
mentally · In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as…mention · A speaking or noticing of anything, usually in a brief or…mentioning · The act of briefly referring to someone or something in…