“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Have you heard ‘to have an attitude of gratitude?’
Gratitude, attitude, fortitude… these brilliant words all have the ending -tude but what do they mean?
In honour of it being November and the month that our cousins in the US celebrate thanksgiving, here at Intrepid English we wanted to share a little gratitude for the wonderful and varied vocabulary in English while looking at words with the suffix -tude.
Gratitude
A strong feeling of appreciation for something or for someone. We often show or express our gratitude for something someone has done for us:
She sent me a gift to show her gratitude for the help I gave her.
Attitude
A feeling or opinion about something or someone:
It is often difficult to change someone’s attitude.
Fortitude
Courage or bravery over a long period of time:
He showed remarkable fortitude during his long illness.
Magnitude
The large size or importance of something:
You don’t seem to understand the magnitude of the problem.
Solitude
To be alone without other people:
After months of solitude out at sea, it felt strange to be back with people.
Beatitude
The state of complete happiness that comes from being blessed:
He wore an expression of beatitude on his face all day.
Multitude
A large number of people of things:
That family has a multitude of problems from drugs to unemployment.
Aptitude
A natural ability or skill:
Her son has a natural aptitude for sports.
Longitude
The position that goes to the east or west of an imaginary circle around the earth that goes through the North Pole, the South Pole and Greenwich, U.K:
The distance was calculated using the longitude data.
Platitude
A remark or statement that is probably true but has been said so often that it has less meaning:
It was the usual platitude that I look like Anne Hathaway.
Now your turn to think of examples using these useful words and therefore improve your vocabulary.