: to refer to a supposed cause, source, or author : to say or think that (something) is caused by, comes from, or is associated with a particular person or thing
These poems are usually ascribed to Homer.
They ascribe most of their success to good timing and good luck.
She ascribes no importance to having a lot of money.
attributed to Rembrandt but possibly done by an associate
assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation.
assigned the bones to the Cretaceous period
impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame.
tried to impute sinister motives to my actions
credit implies ascribing a thing or especially an action to a person or other thing as its agent, source, or explanation.
credited his teammates for his success
Example Sentences
ascribed their stunning military victory to good intelligence beforehand
Recent Examples on the WebGrounds supervisor Matt Niolet would later ascribe the stoppage to the loyalty the employees feel for their bosses. Bill Donahue, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2022 If there is such a thing as monastic diplomacy, its modus operandi would be watchfulness, patience, and a reluctance to ascribe blame. Fred Bahnson, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 People too easily ascribe a mind like their own to all sorts of things, from pets to pet rocks. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 14 June 2022 At the moment, there’s an attempt to ascribe collective guilt to all those who carry a Russian passport, or to the entire Russian culture. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2022 It’s an extraordinarily sophisticated maneuver, one that doesn’t ascribe intention based on personal information but rather allows the art to express its deeper content. Jarrett Earnest, The New York Review of Books, 8 June 2022 But Sean Aday, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, says that news audiences can often ascribe a greater sense of authority and objectivity to satellite images than other kinds of photos. Jordan G. Teicher, The New Republic, 31 Mar. 2022 Many in the White Nationalist movement who participated in the violent attack of the US Capitol on January 6th, it can be argued, ascribe to this viewpoint as well. Charlie Dent, CNN, 1 Mar. 2022 Several analysts ascribe that halting rise to the extremely the tough regulatory climate in both states. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin ascribere, from ad- + scribere to write — more at scribe