misattribute

American  

[mis-uh-tri-byoot] / ˌmɪs əˈtrɪ byut /

verb (used with object)

misattributed, misattributing

1. to attribute (something) to the wrong person or source.

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Other Word Forms

• misattribution noun

Explanation

To misattribute is to give the wrong person credit for doing something. If you misattribute the "To be, or not to be" speech to Homer Simpson, your teacher will probably laugh — and then gently correct you. As well as giving Shakespeare full credit for writing so many memorable lines, attribute is also used to ascribe the cause of something, and misattribute means getting it wrong. For example, you might misattribute the water on the basement floor to a recent rainstorm, when the true cause is your brother's science experiment in the laundry sink. The roots of misattribute are mis-, "wrong," and the Latin attribuere, "assign."

Example Sentences

Patients who reported more severe tiredness or fatigue, headache, aching limbs, joint pain, chills or fever also tended to misattribute pre-existing symptoms to the vaccines, the study found.

From Washington Times • Mar. 27, 2023

But they can still flub tone or even misattribute who said what.

From Washington Post • Dec. 4, 2015

It's very handy that you have distinct accents, because I don't want to misattribute any quotes.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2014

"So when parents are out with their teens supervising practice driving, I think sometimes it's easy to misattribute inexperience to deliberate risk-taking."

From Reuters • Apr. 10, 2014

She is traveling widely to determine which manufacturers in the northern states and France shipped to Louisiana customers, and trying to debunk legends that misattribute antiques made elsewhere to New Orleans artisans.

From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2012