attribute

[uh-trib-yoot, a-truh-byoot]

verb (used with object)

attributed, attributing 

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

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of attribute¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of attribute¹

C15: from Latin attribuere to associate with, from tribuere to give

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Research suggests that a prisoner's offence can be partially attributed to acquired brain injuries, which are found to impair judgement and skew decision making.

Read more on BBC

His lawyers asked the court to reconsider the measure and return Bolsonaro to "humanitarian house arrest" due to his "state of mental confusion," attributed to medications he is taking.

Read more on Barron's

His lead role as a gun-toting rebel in the 1972 crime drama The Harder They Come is a cornerstone of Jamaican cinema, and was attributed as the movie that brought reggae to America.

Read more on BBC

Dharmendra always said he was "embarrassed" by talk of his good looks and attributed it to "nature, my parents and my genes".

Read more on BBC

The surge in natural gas prices is largely attributed to weather forecasts predicting sustained cold, driving up demand for heating.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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