ascribe

[ uh-skrahyb ]

verb (used with object)

, as·cribed, as·crib·ing.

1. to credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute:

   The alphabet is usually ascribed to the Phoenicians.

2. to attribute or think of as belonging, as a quality or characteristic:

   They ascribed courage to me for something I did out of sheer panic.

ascribe

/ əˈskraɪb /

verb

1. to credit or assign, as to a particular origin or period

   to ascribe parts of a play to Shakespeare

2. to attribute as a quality; consider as belonging to

   to ascribe beauty to youth

Usage

Ascribe is sometimes wrongly used where subscribe is meant: I do not subscribe (not ascribe ) to this view

Derived Forms

• asˈcribable, adjective

Other Words From

• a·scriba·ble adjective
• unas·cribed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ascribe¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ascrībere, equivalent to a- a- ⁵ + scrībere to scribe ²; replacing Middle English ascrive < Middle French. See shrive

Word History and Origins

Origin of ascribe¹

C15: from Latin ascrībere to enrol, from ad in addition + scrībere to write

Synonym Study

See attribute.

Example Sentences

Neuroscientists typically ascribe consciousness and abstract thought to the cerebral cortex, which evolved later in human evolution and wraps around the brain's outer layer in folded gray matter.

From Science Daily

“People are ascribing other things to it,” Miserando, said, when real estate ownership “might be the bigger factor than the angle of how strange it is” to see a company going from Texas to California.

From Los Angeles Times

A majority of respondents ascribed consciousness to a broad taxonomic breadth of animals, although at slightly lower majorities as compared to emotions.

From Science Daily

Consequently, the notion of "food safety" too has become entangled with religion, which is sometimes used to ascribe motive to alleged incidents of contamination.

From BBC

They chat about how Americans rarely ascribe meaning to names, leading Igor to look up the origin of Ani’s full name, Anora.

From Salon

Related Words

• attribute
• impute