attribution

play

noun at·tri·bu·tion \ˌa-trə-ˈbyü-shən\

Definition of attribution

1 : the act of attributing something; especially : the ascribing of a work (as of literature or art) to a particular author or artist
2 : an ascribed quality, character, or right Supernatural powers were attributions of the gods.

attributional

play \-sh(ə-)n^əl\ adjective

Examples of attribution in a Sentence

a genuine respect for one another is one of the most commonly cited attributions of a happily married couple

Recent Examples of attribution from the Web

Rennie's blog post offered no on-the-record attribution for his report.

— courant staff report, courant.com, "Report Of Possible Aetna Move To New York Catches State Leaders By Surprise", 30 May 2017
The impasse was described by people who would not speak for attribution because of confidentiality rules imposed by the Tony Awards.

— michael paulson, New York Times, "Hello? Dolly? Bette Midler Seems Unlikely to Sing at Tony Awards", 29 May 2017
For the Marlowe attributions in the New Oxford, Taylor told me that the editorial board was convinced by an article that appears in the current issue of .

— adam davidson, The New Yorker, "The Radical Argument of the New Oxford Shakespeare", 19 Feb. 2017
Crowley’s New York Times bestseller does not contain a attributions of any kind.

— rosemary rossi, Houston Chronicle, "Trump National Security Pick Monica Crowley Accused of Plagiarism", 7 Jan. 2017
Consider the differences between the mess kicked up around the Vermont power company and the attribution of the cyberattacks that targeted Democrats before the election.

— kaveh waddell, The Atlantic, "Don't Read Too Much Into the Vermont Hack Debacle", 3 Jan. 2017
If part of a broader campaign of 1) attribution, 2) deterrence, and 3) resilience, then this could be the beginning of a much more effective cybersecurity strategy.

— uri friedman, The Atlantic, "The Key to Putin’s Cyber Power", 30 Dec. 2016
The video was used without attribution or permission.

— mike shields, WSJ, "CNN Isn’t Happy NowThis Posted Its Election Coverage Clip to Facebook and Twitter", 9 Nov. 2016
Senior administration officials in recent weeks had begun to hint that a public attribution might be coming.

— ellen nakashima, Washington Post, "U.S. government officially accuses Russia of hacking campaign to interfere with elections", 7 Oct. 2016

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