mindset or mind-set

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person's established way of thinking, feeling, or reacting to situations.

   Grammar: Countable: a mindset, mindsets, the mindset of someone.

   Patterns

   • a mindset of something
   • someone's mindset about something
   • have a mindset
   • change a mindset

   She has a very positive mindset about her new job.

   A growth mindset helps students learn from mistakes.

   The company is trying to change the mindset of its employees.

2. 2nouncountable

   A fixed set of opinions or attitudes shared by a group.

   Grammar: Countable: often used with 'the' and a group: the mindset of the team.

   Patterns

   • the mindset of a group
   • a collective mindset
   • a cultural mindset

   The mindset of the team changed after their first win.

   We need to understand the local mindset before we start the project.

Word forms

Common combinations

positive mindset

A positive mindset can help you overcome challenges.

growth mindset

Teachers encourage a growth mindset in their students.

change your mindset

He changed his mindset after reading that book.

mindset shift

There has been a mindset shift in how we work.

Synonyms and how they differ

attitude

Attitude is a feeling or opinion about something specific; mindset is a broader, habitual way of thinking.

outlook

Outlook emphasizes how you expect the future to be; mindset focuses on your general approach to life.

mentality

Mentality is similar but often used slightly negatively, e.g., 'a victim mentality'.

Word family

mind noun

The part of a person that thinks and feels.

mindful adjective

Aware of something; paying attention.

Commonly confused: mindset or mind-set or mind-set?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “mindset or mind-set”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words