attribute

American  

[uh-trib-yoot, a-truh-byoot] / əˈtrɪb jut, ˈæ trəˌbjut /

verb (used with object)

• attributes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• attributed,
  past participle,  past
• attributing
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to consider as a quality or characteristic of the person, thing, group, etc., indicated.

   He attributed intelligence to his colleagues.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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noun

• attributes
  plural

1. something attributed as belonging to a person, thing, group, etc.; a quality, character, characteristic, or property.

   Sensitivity is one of his attributes.

2. something used as a symbol of a particular person, office, or status.

   A scepter is one of the attributes of a king.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Philosophy. (in the philosophy of Spinoza) any of the essential qualifications of God, thought and extension being the only ones known.

6. Logic. (in a proposition) that which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject.

7. Obsolete. distinguished character; reputation.

attribute British  

/ ˌætrɪˈbjuːʃən /

verb

1. to regard as belonging (to), produced (by), or resulting (from); ascribe (to)

   to attribute a painting to Picasso

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noun

1. a property, quality, or feature belonging to or representative of a person or thing

2. an object accepted as belonging to a particular office or position

3. grammar

   1. an adjective or adjectival phrase

   2. an attributive adjective

4. logic the property, quality, or feature that is affirmed or denied concerning the subject of a proposition

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• attributer
  noun
• attribution
  noun
• attributor
  noun
• misattribute
  verb
• reattribute
  verb (used with object)
• attributable
  adjective
• unattributed
  adjective
• well-attributed
  adjective
• unattributably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• attributes
  plural

Participles

• attributing
  present
• attributed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• attribute
  simple
• attributes
  simple
• have attributed
  perfect
• has attributed
  perfect
• am attributing
  progressive
• are attributing
  progressive
• is attributing
  progressive
• have been attributing
  perfect progressive
• has been attributing
  perfect progressive

Past

• attributed
  simple
• had attributed
  perfect
• was attributing
  progressive
• were attributing
  progressive
• had been attributing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will attribute
  simple
• will have attributed
  perfect
• will be attributing
  progressive
• will have been attributing
  perfect progressive

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”; see at-, tribe) + -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

An attribute is a quality or characteristic given to a person, group, or some other thing. Your best attribute might be your willingness to help others, like when you stopped traffic so the duck family could cross the street. Attribute comes from the Latin verb attribuere, which is made up the prefix ad, meaning "to," and tribuere meaning "give or bestow." As a verb, to attribute is to give credit, like if you attribute the A on your test to all that hard studying. In Greek and Roman mythology an attribute will often stand in for a character such as Zeus's lightning bolt or Poseidon's trident.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attribute attributes attributed attributing

“Often, as we get older, we attribute balance problems to ‘oh, that’s just aging’ — and certainly there are age-related changes — but that doesn’t mean we can’t intervene,” Riska says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

The WHO verifies and records attacks on healthcare but does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Many analysts attribute that drop to Amazon.com’s Prime Day sales event, which the company held in June this year instead of July.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Scientists currently attribute that acceleration to dark energy, a phenomenon whose underlying nature remains poorly understood.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Societies attribute masculinity to different genres of music, instruments, and what musicians should look like when performing.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

The trade group attributes the rise to organized criminal networks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

It attributes this to efforts in disrupting the supply of boats to the gangs, and getting more law enforcement on French beaches.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Do I need to hire more people? Is this going to slow down at all?” says Porter, who attributes the surge in part to stock-market gains padding boomers’ retirement savings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

He attributes the fact that no fatalities have been reported in part to the seriousness with which residents and public safety personnel have handled evacuations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

She spent whole days blending oils, making adjustments to achieve specific fragrances and attributes.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

But Xu attributed his success to education -- and the Communist Party.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Chinese state media has attributed Hengli’s accomplishments to Chen and Fan, saying they transformed a small textile factory into the country’s third-largest privately owned company through hard work and business savvy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

For the 2025 calendar year, 20,685 deaths were attributed across the nation to COVID-19 on death certificates, according to the CDC.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The document, seen by BBC Sport, values the club's physical assets at more than £200m, though no specific sum has been attributed to the sale of its struggling teams.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

But it was a misunderstanding, though unintentional, like a painting erroneously attributed to a master.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Some experts warn that attributing too much to AI could give tech companies a loophole to avoid responsibility and liability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

After heat-related deaths reached a peak of 645 in 2023, they declined to 405 in 2025 - with many experts attributing part of the decline to the policy changes.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

If attributing the outbreak of the Civil War to the publication of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was an exaggeration, it was a defensible one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

The company has outlined a near-term total addressable market of $5.7 trillion, attributing just $370 billion to space-enabled solutions.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

However, a veterinarian in Bainbridge, Georgia, Dr. Otis L. Poitevint, who was called upon to treat many of the affected animals, has summarized his reasons for attributing the deaths to the insecticide as follows.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• aspect
• characteristic
• facet
• idiosyncrasy
• peculiarity
• quality
• quirk
• trait
• virtue