impute
Americanverb (used with object)
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to attribute or ascribe.
The children imputed magical powers to the old woman.
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to attribute or ascribe (something discreditable), as to a person.
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Law. to ascribe to or charge (a person) with an act or quality because of the conduct of another over whom one has control or for whose acts or conduct one is responsible.
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Theology. to attribute (righteousness, guilt, etc.) to a person or persons vicariously; ascribe as derived from another.
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Obsolete. to charge (a person) with fault.
verb
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to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, esp a criminal offence) to a person
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to attribute to a source or cause
I impute your success to nepotism
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commerce to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown
Synonym Usage
See attribute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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imputationnoun
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imputativenessnoun
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imputernoun
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nonimputablenessnoun
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nonimputativenessnoun
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imputableadjective
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imputativeadjective
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nonimputableadjective
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nonimputativeadjective
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unimputableadjective
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imputativelyadverb
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imputedlyadverb
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nonimputablyadverb
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nonimputativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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imputesimple
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imputessimple
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have imputedperfect
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has imputedperfect
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am imputingprogressive
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are imputingprogressive
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is imputingprogressive
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have been imputingperfect progressive
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has been imputingperfect progressive
Past
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imputedsimple
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had imputedperfect
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was imputingprogressive
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were imputingprogressive
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had been imputingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of impute
1325–75; Middle English imputen < Latin imputāre, equivalent to im- im- 1 + putāre to assess, reckon, think; see putative
Explanation
The verb impute can be used to blame someone for doing something bad, give credit for good work, or just tell it like it is, like when you impute your lateness to my not telling you where to meet me. When you impute something, you name the cause of something that has happened. For example, you might impute your ability to sing well to the thousands of dollars your parents spent in voice lessons. In other words, you name the source. You can also impute a person, like imputing to a teacher your love of learning — he or she helped you become more interested in school and your classes.
Vocabulary lists containing impute
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Romeo and Juliet
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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.
Impute his wildness, sir, unto his youth, And think that now is the time he doth repent: Alas, what good or gain can you receive, To imprison him that nothing hath to pay?
From The London Prodigal; "by William Shakespeare." as it was played by the King's Majesties servants. by Unknown
"Impute" or "reckon" reminds us of an account book, with its columns of debt and credit entries.
From The Little Gleaner, Vol. X. A Monthly Magazine for the Young by Various
The good and evil with man's nature blent, The weal and woe that heaven's decrees have sent,— Impute them not to motions of the skies,— Skies than thyself ten times more impotent.
From The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam by Khayyam, Omar
Impute it not a crime To me, or my swift passage, that I slide O'er sixteen years, and leave the growth untried Of that wide gap.
From Guy Mannering by Scott, Walter, Sir
Pardon this freedom I have ta’en, An’ if impertinent I’ve been, Impute it not, good Sir, in ane Whase heart ne’er wrang’d ye, But to his utmost would befriend Ought that belang’d ye.
From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Burns, Robert
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.
