ascription

noun

as·​crip·​tion ə-ˈskrip-shən 

1

: the act of ascribing : attribution

2

: arbitrary placement (as at birth) in a particular social status

Examples of ascription in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Do people ascribe race to robots and if so, does the ascription of race to robots affect people’s behavior towards them? —IEEE Spectrum, 17 July 2018

Today dishonest ascriptions of what biology is are being deployed to restrict women’s bodily autonomy, target LGBTQIA+ individuals broadly and, most recently, attack the rights of transexual and transgender people. —Agustín Fuentes, Scientific American, 1 May 2023

The implicit and explicit patterns of numerical gender ascription were moderately correlated. —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 4 Aug. 2017

Not actual perfection but the ascription of it to sundry acts of daily life. —Paula Marantz Cohen, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022

Even if its intent were innocuous — to address inaccurate ascriptions to the Polish state for participating in an official capacity in Nazi crimes — the impact of this type of legislation is dangerous. —Steny Hoyer, Time, 15 Mar. 2018

Black women who posit a feminism that exists for a purpose greater than the liberation of a single individual or gender ascription. —Tunde Wey, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Dec. 2017

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Word History

Etymology

Late Latin ascription-, ascriptio, from Latin, written addition, from ascribere

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

ascription

noun

as·​crip·​tion ə-ˈskrip-shən 

: the act of ascribing : attribution