misattribution
Americannoun
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misattributions
plural
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an incorrect attribution, especially in crediting a specific work to the wrong author, artist, etc.
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Psychology. a psychological process in which someone incorrectly identifies the source of a memory or feeling.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
That report was widely criticized for misattribution and misstating the conclusions of the studies it cited.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
While Chinese painters developed this theme as early as the 10th century it became ubiquitous in Korea by the 18th century, hence the longstanding misattribution of the painting as Korean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
Every time the Captain corrects Claude's misattribution of a quote or misidentification of an American musician, it feels like a test.
From Salon ● May 12, 2024
Manifestation is another misattribution of cause-and-effect, just with a more positive spin: if I got a promotion, it’s because I put a dollar sign on my vision board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
The forms of ajñâna if they are to be known must be associated with pure consciousness, and this association means an illusion, superimposition, and mutual misattribution.
From A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1 by Surendranath Dasgupta
Deliberate fakes, misattributions and poor restorations all encroach into the realm of the authentic.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2018
BuzzFeed found at leas eight examples of these ridiculous misattributions — including a Dolly Parton quote attributed to John Quincy Adams.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2014
The latest row involving Orlando Figes concerns allegations of poor scholarship, misattributions and basic factual mistakes.
From The Guardian ● May 27, 2012
The lack of familiarity with the culture behind the art leads to misattributions.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2011
Chen, now a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, became aware of the misattributions when he saw a copy of Mao's Unpublished Poems.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
