attribute
Americanverb (used with object)
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to regard as resulting from a specified cause; consider as caused by something indicated (usually followed byto ).
She attributed his bad temper to ill health.
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to consider as a quality or characteristic of the person, thing, group, etc., indicated.
He attributed intelligence to his colleagues.
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to consider as made by the one indicated, especially with strong evidence but in the absence of conclusive proof.
to attribute a painting to an artist.
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to regard as produced by or originating in the time, period, place, etc., indicated; credit; assign.
to attribute a work to a particular period; to attribute a discovery to a particular country.
noun
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something attributed as belonging to a person, thing, group, etc.; a quality, character, characteristic, or property.
Sensitivity is one of his attributes.
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something used as a symbol of a particular person, office, or status.
A scepter is one of the attributes of a king.
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Grammar. a word or phrase that is syntactically subordinate to another and serves to limit, identify, particularize, describe, or supplement the meaning of the form with which it is in construction. In the red house, red is an attribute of house.
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Fine Arts. an object associated with or symbolic of a character, office, or quality, as the keys of St. Peter or the lion skin of Hercules.
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Philosophy. (in the philosophy of Spinoza) any of the essential qualifications of God, thought and extension being the only ones known.
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Logic. (in a proposition) that which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject.
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Obsolete. distinguished character; reputation.
verb
noun
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a property, quality, or feature belonging to or representative of a person or thing
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an object accepted as belonging to a particular office or position
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grammar
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an adjective or adjectival phrase
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an attributive adjective
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logic the property, quality, or feature that is affirmed or denied concerning the subject of a proposition
Related Words
Attribute, ascribe, impute imply definite origin. Attribute and ascribe are often used interchangeably, to imply that something originates with a definite person or from a definite cause. Ascribe, however, has neutral implications; whereas, possibly because of an association with tribute, attribute is coming to have a complimentary connotation: to ascribe an accident to carelessness; to attribute one's success to a friend's encouragement. Impute has gained uncomplimentary connotations, and usually means to accuse or blame someone or something as a cause or origin: to impute an error to him. See quality.
Other Word Forms
- attributable adjective
- attributer noun
- attribution noun
- attributor noun
- misattribute verb
- reattribute verb (used with object)
- unattributably adverb
- unattributed adjective
- well-attributed adjective
Etymology
Origin of attribute
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin attribūtus “allotted, assigned, imputed to” (past participle of attribuere ), equivalent to at- “toward” + tribū- (stem of tribuere “to assign (to tribes), classify, ascribe”; at-, tribe ) + -tus past participle suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Smith attributes the long gap between books to the depression brought on by his divorce from his first wife and his subsequent return to school to become a psychotherapist.
The company attributed the decline to strategic reset measures, which included clearing excess of inventory.
The city’s medical examiner later attributed both deaths to drownings, and the police found no evidence of criminality.
He attributed the dynamic to investors’ looking past current results and toward how AI disruption could squeeze corporate earnings in the years ahead.
He attributed the Treasury market’s recent rally in long-dated government debt, and the resulting drop in yields, to broader fears about AI’s destructive capacity.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
