əˈskrīb also aˈ- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English ascriben, alteration (influenced by Latin ascribere ) of ascriven, from Middle French ascrivre, from Latin ascribere, adscribere to ascribe, add to, from ad- + scribere to write — more at scribe
1. : to refer especially to a supposed cause, source, or author : assign , attribute
it is conventional to ascribe this mastery to the development of scientific method — P.W.Bridgman
in so far as we can ascribe those changes to individuals — Christopher Hollis
2. obsolete : to add in writing : subscribe
3. obsolete : inscribe , dedicate
Synonyms:
attribute , assign , refer , credit , accredit , impute , charge : ascribe may suggest tentative, conjectural, inferential, or accustomed indication of cause or characteristic
they have ascribed their victories — in superstitious terms — to the operations of fortune — A.J.Toynbee
disinclined to ascribe to her more than an indiscreet friendship with Wildeve — Thomas Hardy
attribute may imply less of the tentative than ascribe; in its suggestion it falls between ascribe and assign
this knowledge was partly communicated by visions and revelations, to which St. Paul attributed some importance — W.R.Inge
the French had then given up their conventional trick of attributing Eleanor's acts to her want of morals — Henry Adams
assign may suggest the certainty and definiteness of cause, characterization, or placement that comes with deliberate consideration
more than one rejoinder declared that the importance I here assigned to criticism was excessive — Matthew Arnold
they bore a strong likeness to the poems of Henry Vaughan the Silurist, and he concluded that they must be assigned to Vaughan — A.T.Quiller-Couch
refer , now less frequent in this sense, suggests explaining or characterizing by adducing an ultimate cause of major significance or by subsuming in a comprehensive group
I am convinced that at least one half of their bad manners may be referred to their education — A.T.Quiller-Couch
credit and accredit usually suggest favorable ascription bringing credit, although they may be used in unfavorable situations
I am sure both parties credited them with too much idealism and too little plain horse sense — Rose Macaulay
literary style … is credited with being a mysterious preservative for subject matter which no longer interests — T.S.Eliot
several Bangor houses have been accredited to Bulfinch — American Guide Series: Maine
impute is likely to be used with discreditable ascription ranging from accusation to implication
you imputed mean motives to them for giving such advice and cowardice to me for listening to them — Oscar Wilde
no one should … find it necessary to impute to the critic … a puritanic way — F.R.Leavis
Unlike impute , charge always suggests unfavorable ascription, usually in direct accusation
the tyrannies … charged upon the New England oligarchy — V.L.Parrington
crimes as base as any charged on me — William Cowper