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

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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

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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

Economists attribute to immigrants the bulk of U.S. population growth from 1990 to 2015.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

MarketWatch will not attribute your statements to you by name without your permission.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

If she is addicted to fame, mendacity, theatrical performance or whatever pathology some attribute to her, we are addicted to her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

This makes them especially useful for experiments because scientists can minimize genetic variation and more confidently attribute behavioral differences to psilocybin rather than inherited traits.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

This is the one attribute at which I'm not below average: body heft.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

But the 31-year-old showed his key attributes - tenacity, athleticism and controlled aggression - to threaten a huge upset against Medvedev.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Salon’s source in the community attributes this to a nostalgia among former Persian oligarchs residing in Beverly Hills, which is known colloquially as Tehrangeles.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

Procter & Gamble attributes its acquisition of Thorne as a reason for its guidance boost.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The company attributes this growth to cloud computing deals it activated during the third quarter, as well as the close of its acquisition of Cursor and increased adoption of Grok.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

It was because of attributes such as these that over a hundred schools wrote to Derric telling him that they would be privileged to have him on their college campuses the next year.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Shares of the software company were down 3%, which one market expert attributed to the high bar that artificial-intelligence companies face in the current trading climate.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

Most of the studies involved people with primary insomnia, meaning their sleep problems were not attributed to another medical condition.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

Cybersecurity researchers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Two analytics firms have attributed the incident to a North Korean hacking unit, though no one has claimed responsibility.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

He attributed to this weakness the fact that he could never get beyond the Future Simple of Utor.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

It also means that many criminal offenses hinge on attributing a wrongful act to the mental state of a human being.

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026

In psychoanalysis, projection involves attributing feelings, intentions, or qualities to someone else.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

“We have already strengthened our posture along the eastern flank and will continue to monitor the security environment, adjusting our deterrence and defense posture as needed,” Rutte wrote on X, without attributing blame.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Optical stocks were hit especially hard in Monday’s action, with analysts attributing the moves in part to cautious commentary about AI spending.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

At first I paid little attention to the pain, attributing it to fatigue.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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Related Words

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