ascribe

verb

as·​cribe ə-ˈskrīb How to pronounce ascribe (audio)
ascribed; ascribing

transitive verb

: 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.
ascribable adjective
Choose the Right Synonym for ascribe

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.

forged paintings formerly ascribed to masters

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

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

Examples of ascribe in a Sentence

ascribed their stunning military victory to good intelligence beforehand
Recent Examples on the Web Over the years, the supplement has been ascribed many medical powers, some more credible than others. Adam Markovitz, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Trump's legal team has ascribed partisan motives to the prosecution's push for a prompt trial. Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 13 Feb. 2024 Trump’s legal team has ascribed partisan motives to the prosecution’s push for a prompt trial. Mark Sherman, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2024 Society has equally contributed to these misconceptions by ascribing better leadership skills and competency to men. Nihinlola Adeyemi, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 My wife objected, ascribing the desire to my Soviet childhood spent in a communal flat. Alexander Nazaryan, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Born into a large family in Staten Island, N.Y., Blackwell ascribes her extreme dog love to never having had a childhood pet. Michelle Madden, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2024 Faced with consumers’ remarkable resilience this year, many doomsayers ascribed it to excess savings, amassed during the pandemic, that would inevitably run out. Mike Sommers, Fortune Europe, 1 Feb. 2024 And, once again, there is a lot of ambiguity — and a lot of arguing — over how much of these events can be ascribed to normal human behavior, and how much is the result of something inexplicable. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 28 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ascribe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin ascribere, from ad- + scribere to write — more at scribe

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ascribe was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near ascribe

Cite this Entry

“Ascribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ascribe. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ascribe

verb
as·​cribe ə-ˈskrīb How to pronounce ascribe (audio)
ascribed; ascribing
: to think of as coming from a specified cause, source, or author
a statement ascribed to Plato
ascribable adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on ascribe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!