Definition of ASCRIBE

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

Croatia’s team members ascribe their victories to a tough mentality, born of national struggle. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Why this World Cup final is like no other," 13 July 2018 Other party establishment figures and groups, similarly seeking to place and avoid blame, will surely return fire (and then some), ascribing the mess to a combination of missteps by electoral neophytes and overwhelmed state and national operatives. — Gregory Krieg, CNN, "Democrats have more to lose in California than a few primaries," 4 June 2018 There’s undoubtedly an element of self-fulfilling prophecy to any set of characteristics ascribed to birth order, much as there is to, say, those linked to astrological signs. — Adam Sternbergh, The Cut, "The Extinction of the Middle Child," 11 July 2018 The stockmarket, in so far as rationality can be ascribed to it, came down on the side of those saying that the central bank has not really started to ease. — The Economist, "China starts easing monetary policy. Or does it?," 30 June 2018 Any actions ascribed to the four Russians have never been independently confirmed by official investigations or authoritative news reports. — Washington Post, "Some questions in Trump-Russia dossier now finding answers," 29 June 2018 The Tezos network itself hadn’t yet launched, of course, so any market value ascribed to these token allotments was almost entirely arbitrary. — Gideon Lewis-kraus, WIRED, "The Blockchain: A Love Story—And a Horror Story," 18 June 2018 Played by David Berry, Grey will apparently live up to the fair, handsome features ascribed to him in the series. — Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, "Here's Everything We Know About "Outlander" Season 3," 28 Aug. 2017 Delos’s security squad finally arrived—via private-military types showing yet greater amounts of rudeness than the show has already ascribed to such characters—just as Dolores’s team’s train made it to the edge of the park, with a boom. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "Westworld: From Cradle to Grave," 28 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ascribe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.