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Glite Dictionary
to attitudinize

to attitudinize

1 9.9
To act in a way that is not natural to impress others
  • verb
  • /ˌætɪˈtjuːdɪnaɪz/
  • Formal
: actuar con afectación
  • The critic accused the actor of attitudinizing rather than offering genuine emotion.

Examples

  • She tends to attitudinize when discussing art, making her sound insincere.

  • Instead of attitudinizing, try speaking honestly about your experiences.

  • Don't attitudinize just to impress your friends.

  • She attitudinizes whenever she meets someone important.

  • She tends to attitudinize during social events, trying hard to impress her peers with her knowledge.

  • His constant desire to attitudinize makes him seem insincere, as he often exaggerates his opinions.

  • At the party, he couldn't help but attitudinize, speaking in an overly dramatic tone to gain attention.

Synonyms

to posture
vsto attitudinize
13 7.7

To pretend to be more important or clever than you are

is less about exaggeration and more about affectation to show off
to swagger
vsto attitudinize
10 5.6

To walk or behave in a confident way to impress others

is more about affected pretentious attitude than genuine confident pride
to put on airs
vsto attitudinize
  • Informal
6 8.4

Act as if you are better than other people

is aimed at showing social superiority rather than only affectation
to pose
vsto attitudinize
2 6.5

To act in a way that is not natural to impress others

is more about showing off with a pretentious attitude
to put on the dog
vsto attitudinize
  • Informal
1 9.9

Act in a showy way to impress people

is more about adopting a pretentious attitude rather than just being showy
to give oneself airs
vsto attitudinize
8.1

To act as if you are better than other people

emphasizes superiority as the motive for showing off rather than mere manner
to ostentate
vsto attitudinize
9.9

To show things in a way that makes people admire you

is focused on adopting a pretentious manner rather than showing objects

How Affected

to strut
61 5.5
to attitudinize
  • Formal
1 9.9
to pose
2 6.5
to posture
13 7.7

Surface Forms

attitudinize infinitive
attitudinized past
attitudinized past participle
attitudinizing present participle
attitudinizes third person singular

Morphology

attitudinize = attitude (semi-transparent) = attitude + ize

Formed from 'attitude' with a linking -in- before the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize'; the basic meaning 'to assume or show an attitude' is derivable but the word often carries a specific sense of affected or pretentious behaviour.

Etymology

The word attitudinize comes from the common word attitude plus the ending -ize, which means 'to make or do'. A helpful way to remember it is that it literally means 'make an attitude'. It means to put on a show or a pose, acting in a fake or showy way to impress others.