ascribe
ascribe Lexical Profile
ascribe Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To attribute or assign something to a particular cause, source, or origin.
"Historians often ascribe the decline of the ancient city to prolonged drought and shifting trade routes."
To regard a quality, characteristic, or motive as belonging to someone or something.
"Ancient cultures frequently ascribed human emotions and motives to natural phenomena."
To regard a text, work of art, or quotation as having been produced by a specific person or during a particular period.
"Art curators generally ascribe the unsigned portrait to a pupil of Rembrandt."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Ascribe' is almost always used transitively and followed by the preposition 'to' (as in 'ascribe something to someone').
• Rhymes for ascribe
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Latin 'ascribere', meaning 'to add to in writing' or 'to attribute', formed from 'ad-' (to) and 'scribere' (to write).