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

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

Because the Z boson itself barely interacts with the plasma, the researchers could attribute these wake patterns directly to individual quarks traveling through the material.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Analysts attribute the rebounding flow of oil to three key factors:

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Many economists attribute the fall in part to higher demand for retirement savings as populations aged, and less appetite for productive investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

The natural assumption of children, Markman argues, is that if an object or person is given a second label, then that label must refer to some secondary property or attribute of that object.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

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 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 within the physics of professional cycling—a sport built around wind resistance, watt production, and superhuman tolerance for pain—that odd collection of attributes turns out to be uniquely powerful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Although this is not typical or standard notation, there are very specific musical attributes that can be visually represented such as sound, silence, and duration or the length of the sound.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Last fall, Hijazi went to the emergency room with heart problems, which she attributed to the vitriol, she said in a text message to Knott.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The remains attributed to Samuel will be laid in a white sarcophagus made from marble quarried in the Prilep region of North Macedonia, public broadcaster BNT said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Her work allowed the team to validate the August 24 date attributed to Pliny the Younger to within two months.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

It was not the only unusual discovery attributed to the latest ocean conditions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Possessed of an inner confidence that attributed no shortcoming either !o her race or to her gender, Dorothy welcomed the chance to prove herself in a competitive academic arena.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Herman said registrations for .si web addresses in September stood out "very clearly" against the other months in the year, although she was "cautious" about attributing the entire increase to only President Trump's comments.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

However, experts have questioned the artwork's provenance, with some scholars attributing it to Giacomo Ceruti - another Italian artist from the same period.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 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

It laid off 8,000 employees in May, attributing the cuts to the cost of its AI initiatives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

She must be attributing the change in her vision to some maneuver of the tracker’s rather than a betrayal by me.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Related Words

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