Attitudinizings

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Behaving in an affected manner meant to display a particular stance or mood ; adopting a posture or air to create an impression ; putting on airs to impress or influence others
2. Deliberately acting with a showy or performative demeanor to project a certain outlook ; assuming affected attitudes to appear distinctive ; engaging in ostentatious mannerisms for effect
3. Displaying contrived or artificial conduct aimed at expressing specific sentiments ; intentionally posing or performing to be noticed for one's stance ; affecting a manner to impress or communicate an attitude

Etymology: "Attitudinizings" is the plural form of "attitudinizing," the present participle and gerund of the verb "attitudinize," meaning to strike an attitude or pose for effect. The verb is built from "attitude," which came into English from Italian "attitudine," meaning posture or disposition, and ultimately from Late Latin "aptitudo," fitness or aptness. The Italian sense of bodily posture is the key to the verb: an attitude was first a physical stance, such as the pose of a figure in a painting, before it came to describe a state of mind. The suffix "-ize" turns the noun into an action, so to attitudinize is to perform an attitude, adopting a deliberate bearing rather than simply holding one. The plural "attitudinizings" therefore names separate instances of such performances, each one a deliberate display put on for an audience.

Synonyms: posturings, posing, styling, gesturing, mimicking