Thesaurus results for ATTRIBUTE

Q: How is the word 'attribute' different from other verbs like it?

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 . // attributed to Rembrandt but possibly done by an associate

Q: When might 'ascribe' be a better fit than 'attribute'?

The words ascribe and attribute are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ascribe suggests an inferring or conjecturing of cause, quality, authorship. // forged paintings formerly ascribed to masters

Q: In what contexts can 'assign' take the place of 'attribute'?

While in some cases nearly identical to attribute , assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation. // assigned the bones to the Cretaceous period

Q: Where would 'credit' be a reasonable alternative to 'attribute'?

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. // credited his teammates for his success

Q: When is 'impute' a more appropriate choice than 'attribute'?

Although the words impute and attribute have much in common, impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame. // tried to impute sinister motives to my actions

attribute 1 of 2

verb

ə-ˈtri-ˌbyüt

Definition of attribute

as in to ascribe

to explain (something) as being the result of something else attributed the quick rescue to the well-trained police force

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to explain

to give the reason for or cause of a psychotherapist who's a little too quick to attribute every emotional problem or character defect to an unhappy childhood

Synonyms & Similar Words

attribute

2 of 2

noun

ˈa-trə-ˌbyüt

as in characteristic

something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind list the attributes of a mammal

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word attribute different from other verbs like it?

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.

attributed to Rembrandt but possibly done by an associate

When might ascribe be a better fit than attribute?

The words ascribe and attribute are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ascribe suggests an inferring or conjecturing of cause, quality, authorship.

forged paintings formerly ascribed to masters

In what contexts can assign take the place of attribute?

While in some cases nearly identical to attribute, assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation.

assigned the bones to the Cretaceous period

Where would credit be a reasonable alternative to attribute?

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.

credited his teammates for his success

When is impute a more appropriate choice than attribute?

Although the words impute and attribute have much in common, impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame.

tried to impute sinister motives to my actions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of attribute

Verb

The cause is being attributed to a tear in the spleen, but the coroner's office says the virus did not play a role. — Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026 Zimbabwe is among the countries with the worst road safety records, with 94% of road accidents attributed to human error, according to authorities. — ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026

Noun

This vector is defined by a list of coordinates, where each coordinate measures how much of a particular attribute that person has. — Quanta Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026 Speed, efficiency, and safety are among the most crucial attributes of canal transport. — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for attribute

Recent Examples of Synonyms for attribute

Verb

Johnson ascribed magical powers to said mustache and had the receipts to back it up.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2026
One automatically ascribes fraud to results that are often predictable, even routine; the other dismisses legitimate concerns as conspiracy theories.

— Andrew E. Busch, The Conversation, 23 July 2026

Definition of ascribe

Verb

One of the questions, directed to David Hunt, director of finance for Entergy Arkansas, asks him to explain the reasoning for the classification of the payments.

— Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
Bernadette explains the racial nuances the Guardians might not know as newcomers to Earth, echoing the landmark 1971 Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic series, which attempts to bring the space cops down to Earth by exposing them to racial strife.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of explain

Noun

According to the team, each of those characteristics plays out similarly in real fish of various sizes across different ecological niches.

— Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
And most simulants of lunar material are faithful in their geological characteristics, to simulate the lunar surface and its dust, rather than the precise chemistry within.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of characteristic

Verb

But a backlash over plans to honor Galliano, who is credited with growing luxury-fashion brand Dior into a global giant, left Met Gala organizers in damage control.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026
The new version is jointly credited to HUGEL, Imael Angel, and the legendary house-music singer Ultra Naté, who apparently lent her human voice to this transhuman collaboration.

— Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of credit

Verb

The government may not decide that Church teaching is insufficiently religious, insufficiently consistent with Catholic doctrine, or insufficiently compelling to justify an ecclesiastical policy.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
Organizers of Tuesday's rally said the women were released from ICE detention after a judge granted their habeas corpus petitions, meaning the government was required to justify their continued detention.

— Drew Aunkst, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of justify

Noun

Japan has selected Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s luminously cerebral French-language feature All of a Sudden as its submission for the best international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

— Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, All Of A Sudden, has been selected as Japan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of feature

Noun

This suggests an inherent bias from the LLM's Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) training, where human input inadvertently promotes traits like curiosity.

— Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Craig was extremely productive at Harvard and has NFL-caliber traits with his size, mobility and throw power.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of trait

Noun

Since OpenAI published its blog post, the website changed the article’s attribution to one of the real authors, Kate Hooper, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.

— Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
Much of the content generated promoted an organization called the International Burke Institute (IBI), the website of which features articles copied from real academic writing, sometimes with false attribution.

— Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of attribution

Browse Nearby Words

attracts

attribute

attributed

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Attribute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attribute. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of attribute

verb

noun

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Example Sentences

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