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

Sri Lanka's health authorities attribute the surge in dengue infections to a cyclone that tore through the island last December, scattering debris that have turned into new breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Metal mining is energy-intensive, and conventional estimates for its carbon footprint attribute most of its emissions to heavy equipment on-site, as well as diesel transport required to haul ore away.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Shares in France’s Thales and Italian group Leonardo—which each attribute between 10% and 15% of their sales to the U.K., according to Citi analysts—rose by 1.7% and 3.8%, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“When you hear CEOs talk about layoffs and they attribute it to AI, I would be skeptical,” Kharazian said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Clara’s strangeness was simply an attribute of their youngest daughter, like Luis’s limp or Rosa’s beauty.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Apollo attributes that weakness to rich offering valuations, higher interest rates and a public market increasingly dominated by a handful of profitable megacapitalization companies.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

He only played 229 minutes in 2025-26 but Iraola has spoken glowingly about his attributes, not least his confidence on the ball and his desire to go direct.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Zhang attributes biking's popularity in the city to the prevalence of manufacturers, the rugged terrain, and bad traffic.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Salata attributes the PE momentum in Japan to a “mindset shift in Japanese corporate boardrooms, almost like a changing of the guard.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

I refer to things such as good accent and command of language, general knowledge on wide-ranging topics such as falconing or newt-mating - attributes none of which my father could have boasted.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Morgan Wright, a former US state department anti-terror adviser, told the BBC that these kinds of attacks are usually attributed to North Korea or Iran.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Even though neither setback can be attributed solely to the World Cup, both underline the physical demands being placed on players in an increasingly crowded football calendar.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

The company attributed the growth to foreign exchange and rounding effects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Europe has been gripped by successive heatwaves and a major drought this year, which scientists have attributed to human-caused climate change.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Though I attributed it more to the laws of probability than from any human kindness.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

“The money lies in the RBIs,” Kent said while attributing that quote to Lasorda during his speech.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

After heat-related deaths reached a peak of 645 in 2023, they declined to 405 in 2025 - with many experts attributing part of the decline to the policy changes.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Mapping out the obscure corners of the ecosystem and attributing specific wallets to Iran’s government or anyone else can be difficult and has created a market for firms like TRM.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

The company has outlined a near-term total addressable market of $5.7 trillion, attributing just $370 billion to space-enabled solutions.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

Meanwhile, her new husband fluttered among the diners attributing his mother-in-law’s absence to a sudden attack of asthma and his bride’s tears to the emotions of the occasion.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Related Words

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