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

Example Sentences

Correction: An earlier version of this article misattributed a quote to the character Nick.

From The Wall Street Journal

I refuse to invoke the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson," since it's one that's been famously misattributed to Holmes, though, in actuality, found nowhere in Doyle's pages.

From Salon

A quote long misattributed to Sinclair Lewis says that it would come “wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

From New York Times

To this day, it is often misattributed to Voltaire.

From Los Angeles Times

The chronic disease also explained why she’d suffered eight miscarriages — something a prior OB-GYN had misattributed to the shape of her uterus.

From Los Angeles Times