1
as in ascribing
to explain (something) as being the result of something else
attributed the quick rescue to the well-trained police force
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in explaining
to give the reason for or cause of
a psychotherapist who's a little too quick to attribute every emotional problem or character defect to an unhappy childhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of attributing
But with officials attributing nearly 90% of waterway pollution to encampments, the city also had to reduce the impacts from the unhoused population as part of its permit, which proved a costly endeavor last year.
—
Devan Patel, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Cinema sometimes has to know how to give in to a cause, but another thing entirely is to impoverish cinema by attributing to documentary cinema a mere and strict role of denunciation.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
The family expressed gratitude for worldwide support, including prayers from Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Leo XIV, while attributing her survival to divine intervention.
—Doc Louallen, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2025
The person who killed 51 people at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, left behind writings that mixed political ideologies with memes and jokes attributing his radicalization to child video games.
—Ben Goggin, NBC news, 12 Sep. 2025
The time to prepare for AI agents is now, and CISOs can start by establishing AI observability capable of tracking, auditing and attributing agentic behaviors across environments.
—Josh Lemos, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Kentucky reported at least 1,223 work zone crashes in 2024, with officials attributing seven deaths and 298 injuries to those crashes.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2025
Sure, Ghost has his creative license to put that in a skit without anyone attributing it directly to him, but the skit was funny without joking about spousal abuse.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2025
As the government works to appeal the decision, state and federal officials are publicly attributing their loss in federal court to Williams, a veteran jurist appointed by former President Barack Obama.
—Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Devan Patel, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Cinema sometimes has to know how to give in to a cause, but another thing entirely is to impoverish cinema by attributing to documentary cinema a mere and strict role of denunciation.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
The family expressed gratitude for worldwide support, including prayers from Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Leo XIV, while attributing her survival to divine intervention.
—Doc Louallen, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2025
The person who killed 51 people at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, left behind writings that mixed political ideologies with memes and jokes attributing his radicalization to child video games.
—Ben Goggin, NBC news, 12 Sep. 2025
The time to prepare for AI agents is now, and CISOs can start by establishing AI observability capable of tracking, auditing and attributing agentic behaviors across environments.
—Josh Lemos, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Kentucky reported at least 1,223 work zone crashes in 2024, with officials attributing seven deaths and 298 injuries to those crashes.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2025
Sure, Ghost has his creative license to put that in a skit without anyone attributing it directly to him, but the skit was funny without joking about spousal abuse.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2025
As the government works to appeal the decision, state and federal officials are publicly attributing their loss in federal court to Williams, a veteran jurist appointed by former President Barack Obama.
—Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attributing
Verb
-
Poor luck plagued him, but ascribing all of this outing to misfortune is misguided.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Over subsequent decades, this credo would face challenges, including from New Deal–era progressives wary of rich men ascribing to charity what was properly the realm of the state and of McCarthyite conservatives targeting philanthropic foundations as part of anticommunist fearmongering.—
Mark Malloch-Brown,
Foreign Affairs,
15 Jan. 2024
Verb
-
Disorders like tremors can be traced to specific misbehaving circuits in the brain, Munyon said while explaining the procedure.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Robinson also leans on ChatGPT to talk through lifestyle adjustments like meal prep ideas, travel accommodations, and communication strategies for explaining her health needs to clients and colleagues.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Tocchet has already come away impressed with the Cates-Tyson Foerster-Bobby Brink line, crediting them Saturday for setting the pace in practice.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
-
No rockets had landed, Choi said, crediting Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
During the event, Dixon argued in favor of armed political action, while justifying it as self-defense against Nazis, fascists and White supremacists.—
Julia Bonavita , Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
That was until Eric Adams stepped in with a rare veto on the council’s vote, justifying his decision by claiming that the Bronx should have the same odds to be chosen for a casino as other parts of New York City.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attributing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attributing. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share