Definition of ascribe
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.
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Examples of ascribe in a Sentence
ascribed their stunning military victory to good intelligence beforehand
Recent Examples of ascribe from the Web
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Kathy said, ascribing his mood to not being able to play video games.
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The finished product is ascribed to both Clowes and Zwigoff, who before Ghost World had directed the acclaimed, bizarre documentary Crumb (about Robert Crumb’s life and career).
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How much of Judge’s popularity can be ascribed to playing for the Yankees is debatable.
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The first image of a polar bear in North America proper adorns a world map from 1544, usually ascribed to the Venetian Sebastian Cabot.
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Markets rebounded briefly on the news, then went into a decline ascribed to disappointing earnings news from the tech sector.
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.
Origin and Etymology of ascribe
Middle English, from Latin ascribere, from ad- + scribere to write — more at scribe
First Known Use: 15th century
Synonym Discussion of ascribe
ASCRIBE Defined for Kids
ascribe
playDefinition of ascribe for Students
ascribed
;ascribing
: to think of as coming from a specified cause, source, or author They ascribed his success to nothing more than good luck.
Learn More about ascribe
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ascribe Spanish Central: Translation of ascribe Nglish: Translation of ascribe for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ascribe for Arabic speakers
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