credit

belief, faith, credence, credit mean assent to the truth of something offered for acceptance.

belief may or may not imply certitude in the believer.

faith almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof.

credence suggests intellectual assent without implying anything about grounds for assent.

credit may imply assent on grounds other than direct proof.

influence, authority, prestige, weight, credit mean power exerted over the minds or behavior of others.

influence may apply to a force exercised and received consciously or unconsciously.

authority implies the power of winning devotion or allegiance or of compelling acceptance and belief.

prestige implies the ascendancy given by conspicuous excellence or reputation for superiority.

weight implies measurable or decisive influence in determining acts or choices.

credit suggests influence that arises from the confidence of others.

ascribe, attribute, assign, impute, credit mean to lay something to the account of a person or thing.

ascribe suggests an inferring or conjecturing of cause, quality, authorship.

attribute suggests less tentativeness than ascribe, less definiteness than assign.

assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation.

impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame.

credit implies ascribing a thing or especially an action to a person or other thing as its agent, source, or explanation.