Of a state of mind that acknowledges that which one has not yet experienced with acceptance and curiosity. The open minded person naturally embodies the phrase "Don't knock it till you try it." And generally has a positive opinion of most things and people and ideas.
Not to be confused with Tolerance, which is the acknowledgement of that which one has not yet experienced and the willingness to tolerate and allow its existence, but with no I ward acceptance of it as a desirable thing.
Tolerance may owtwardly feign open mindedness in some cases but the two rarely coexist because where there is open mindedness there is no need for tolerance.
Person 1: Look at those gays over thereholding hands, they should keep that behind closed doors.
Person 2: Why don't you be more open minded?
Person 1: I am, I know everybody has the right to do whatever they want, but I don't have to like it.
Person 2: No, you're not open minded, you're just tolerant. There's a difference.
1. Ready to accept on firm evidence that one's most cherished beliefs may be hogwash, but bearing in mind that extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.
2. Politically correct synonym for "gullible" used by New Age quacks who want to sell you a bill of goods.
I am open-minded about the existence of the Judeo-Christian God. If he appears in the immortal flesh in the heavens to me and a few billion other people and manifests his power openly in such a manner that it cannot possibly be a dream, illusion, hallucination or anything of the sort, I'll accept he is there. In the meantime, it is more befitting the heritage of the human intellect to ignore such figures as mythical.
Open-mindedness is a virtue, but when dealing with New Age salespeople it is important to remember that if you keep your mind too open, your brain may fall out.
an extremely common term used on tinder when guys really mean they want you to have threesomes or an open relationship or s&m or who even knows what else
a person who actually tries something before they decide whether they like it or not; they like or hate something because of actual exposure, not because others think it's cool
I am an open-minded punk. I don't hate on artists like Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan because so-called "true punks" think they shouldn't be listened to. I actually have heard their music, and while they may not sing about the government, they're still great artists.
Possessing the ability to conceive reasonable criteria that would prove one's cherished beliefs to be mistaken, or that would show an idea one finds repulsive to actually be true. Often mistaken for "empty-headed" or "indecisive" by many empty-headed and indecisive people.
1. Chuck's an open-minded guy. He saw Fahrenheit 911 and Fahrenhype 911 before voting in the 2004 election.
2. Liberals like to pretend they're open-minded, but they're every bit as prejudiced as anyone else.