ascribe

[uh-skrahyb]

verb (used with object)

ascribed, ascribing 

1. to credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute.

   The alphabet is usually ascribed to the Phoenicians.

2. to attribute or think of as belonging, as a quality or characteristic.

   They ascribed courage to me for something I did out of sheer panic.

ascribe

/ əˈskraɪb /

verb

1. to credit or assign, as to a particular origin or period

   to ascribe parts of a play to Shakespeare

2. to attribute as a quality; consider as belonging to

   to ascribe beauty to youth

Usage

Ascribe is sometimes wrongly used where subscribe is meant: I do not subscribe (not ascribe ) to this view

Other Word Forms

• ascribable adjective
• unascribed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ascribe¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ascrībere, equivalent to a- a- ⁵ + scrībere to scribe ²; replacing Middle English ascrive < Middle French. See shrive

Word History and Origins

Origin of ascribe¹

C15: from Latin ascrībere to enrol, from ad in addition + scrībere to write

Synonym Study

See attribute.

Example Sentences

It was also a "tough" decision because Mr Veevers did not ascribe to a specific custom, and no will had been presented to show that he wished "to exit the world in a certain way".

From BBC

He claimed Obergefell “inevitably set in conflict between those who ascribe to the Supreme Court’s edict and those who have a firmly held religious belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

From Salon

What meaning do you ascribe to the work?

From Salon

For all of the emotional layers ascribed to cinema’s contemporary superheroes, Reeve’s Superman is blissfully uncomplicated.

From Salon

It’s definitely more than what people ascribe to it as a part of a show.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attribute 
• impute