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.

---

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

---

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

Russian authorities have denied that she died of the plague and attribute her death to “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

Romanian authorities did not immediately attribute a cause for the incident.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Officials attribute the deaths to mainly measles and malaria, possibly aggravated by malnutrition and delays in treatment.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The researchers attribute the added strength to the interaction between zeolite's alumina-silicate structure and the hardness of bamboo biochar.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

But Metcalfe put a fine point on what had become a core attribute of media by the end of the twentieth century.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Gordon says that since his move to Spain he has changed people's perception of him being a player who is only quick and presses well, even if they are two of his best attributes.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

She attributes some of the gender divide to the fact that the two demographics are often presented with different informational realities, though it is difficult to quantify.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

It attributes the beat to significantly lower exploration expenditure and a larger reversal of share-based payments, among other things.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

“It certainly represents victory and all those attributes about the Olympics. But it also brings people together, and it’s a symbol of hope and what the Olympic movement really does for everyone.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

But a number of idealistic mountaineers continued to insist that a gifted athlete blessed with rare physiological attributes could, after a lengthy period of acclimatization, climb the peak without bottled oxygen.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

“This is very much still a problem, not attributed to a single model or company,” said Etienne Brisson, chief executive of AI-victim support group Human Line Project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

"This paper publishes a new adult fossil attributed to Homo erectus, DNH 127, providing further confirmation that this species first appeared in southern Africa 2 million years ago."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Fishing gear was responsible for 46% of the cases, with the rest attributed to ropes or lines not directly tied to fishing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

To paraphrase the maxim falsely attributed to Lincoln, you can fool a whole bunch of the people for a hell of a long time, but you can’t fool all of them forever.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Among themselves, people winked and giggled and attributed the mischief to El Brazo Onofre.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

But he felt out of place at home, attributing his desire to leave Germany to his country’s “tall-poppy” syndrome—the idea that successful people get criticized and cut down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The group said the chemical industry accounted for most of the contraction, attributing the weakness to the rising price of oil, which many companies use as their primary feedstock for chemicals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

While Netflix does not offer a free service, the streaming giant in October 2022 began offering a lower-priced ad-supported option, later attributing the offering with a boost in subscription counts.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

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

Although many people greeted the new forensic sciences with reverence, attributing to them a godlike power, they were often susceptible to human error.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

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