attribute
1 of 2noun
attribute
2 of 2verb
transitive verb
Did you know?
Attribute means something rather similar to "pay tribute". So, for example, an award winner who pays tribute to an inspiring professor is, in a sense, attributing her success to the professor. Though if you attribute your fear of dogs to an incident in your childhood, you're not exactly praising the nasty dog that bit you way back when. The second sense of attribute is slightly different: If you attribute bad motives to a politician, it means you think he or she is doing things for the wrong reasons (even if you don't have any proof). When attribute is accented on its first syllable, it's being used as a noun, usually as a synonym for quality. So, for instance, you may believe that an even temper is an attribute of the best presidents, or that cheerfulness is your spouse's best attribute.
Synonyms
Noun
- affection
- attribution
- character
- characteristic
- criterion
- diagnostic
- differentia
- feature
- fingerprint
- hallmark
- mark
- marker
- note
- particularity
- peculiarity
- point
- property
- quality
- specific
- stamp
- touch
- trait
Verb
- accredit
- ascribe
- chalk up
- credit
- impute
- lay
- put down
Example Sentences
Scott Turner | Sturner@al.com, al, 3 July 2022 That attribute and the ability to extend plays with his scrambling ability has drawn some comparisons to the skill set of Daniels. Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 19 Aug. 2022 The fibers saturate quickly, and your top just clings to you, eliminating the breathability that’s usually a top merino attribute. Scott Douglas, Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2022 The latter attribute bodes particularly well as consumers start to trade down. Alicia Kelso, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 It was long thought that Whiting’s best attribute would be recruiting, coming from the high school and AAU ranks. Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 July 2022 And now, the single most important attribute being prioritized in corporate board director searches is racial and ethnic diversity according to PwC's 2021 Annual Corporate Directors Survey. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 8 Aug. 2022 Another crucial attribute to this technology is providing seamless opportunities to be connected to family, friends, and loved ones outside of the community. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2022 Such capability is another attribute of the metaverse of planning, where the digital iteration is monitoring the changes in the behavior of the physical one and either adapting them or correcting them. Cyrus Hadavi, Forbes, 12 July 2022 Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2022 Experts also attribute China’s falling birth rates, at least partly, to a desire among Chinese women to avoid the government and societal pressures to have children. Grady Mcgregor, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2022 The authors attribute this problem in part to the profit fees paid by winning bettors, which reduce the incentive for traders to arbitrage between contracts and improve their accuracy. Tim Fernholz, Quartz, 8 Aug. 2022 Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker Parker and Broderick (pictured here in 1993) attribute their marital success to privacy. Grace Gavilanes, Peoplemag, 3 Aug. 2022 Experts attribute the difference to variations in weather, vegetation and topography. Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2022 Many veterans attribute health problems that arose later, such as cancer and respiratory illness, to exposure to chemicals released into the air via these fires. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 30 July 2022 Yemen experts attribute the truce, first announced in April and extended for another two months in June, to Saudi Arabia’s changing calculations as well as those of the Houthis, who struggled before the truce to capture the strategic city of Marib. Kareem Fahim, Washington Post, 26 July 2022 The authors attribute that to the child tax credit. Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 28 June 2022 See More Word History
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Latin attributus, past participle of attribuere to attribute, from ad- + tribuere to bestow — more at tribute
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing attribute
Kids Definition
attribute 1 of 2
noun
attribute
2 of 2verb
attribute 1 of 2
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- ascribe
- credit
- blame
- impute
- link
- refer
- chalk up
- assign
- accredit
- attach
- put down
- connect
- lay
- associate
- pin (on)
- impute (to)
- charge
- father (on)
Synonyms & Similar Words
- explain
- justify
- rationalize
- account (for)
- explain away
- excuse
- exculpate
- condone
- exonerate
- forgive
- vindicate
- absolve
- acquit
attribute
2 of 2noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- characteristic
- trait
- feature
- attribution
- quality
- criterion
- property
- specific
- hallmark
- mark
- character
- peculiarity
- marker
- symbol
- indication
- affection
- stamp
- diagnostic
- note
- fingerprint
- particularity
- touch
- point
- sign
- token
- virtue
- differentia
- merit
- emblem
- badge
- grace
- uniqueness
- excellence
- charm
- eccentricity
- quirk
- idiosyncrasy
- individuality
- singularity
- oddity
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of attribute are ascribe, assign, credit, and impute. While all these words mean "to lay something to the account of a person or thing," attribute suggests less tentativeness than ascribe, less definiteness than assign.
The words ascribe and attribute are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ascribe suggests an inferring or conjecturing of cause, quality, authorship.
While in some cases nearly identical to attribute, assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation.
The words credit and attribute can be used in similar contexts, but credit implies ascribing a thing or especially an action to a person or other thing as its agent, source, or explanation.
Although the words impute and attribute have much in common, impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame.