attribute
verb (used with object)
to regard as resulting from a specified cause; consider as caused by something indicated (usually followed byto ).
had been attributing
-
past perfect progressiveof attribute.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
And what other meaning could he attach to such words than that which so many of his friends had been attributing to Mr. Glascock for some weeks past?
From He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
Though she did not confess it, he forced her to see that at least his motives were not those she had been attributing to him.
From The Cost by David Graham Phillips
For the last few minutes, as far as his preoccupation allowed him to notice them at all, he had been attributing the subdued sniffs to a summer cold, having just recovered from one himself.
From A Man of Means by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
