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Ascribe vs. Attribute: What's the Difference?

Ascribe and Attribute Definitions

Ascribe

To regard as arising from a specified cause or source
"Other people ascribe his exclusion from the canon to an unsubtle form of racism" (Daniel Pinchbeck).

Attribute

To regard as arising from a particular cause or source; ascribe
Attributed their failure to a lack of preparation.

Ascribe

To regard as belonging to or produced by a specified agent, place, or time
Ascribed the poem to Shakespeare.

Attribute

To regard (a work, for example) as belonging to or produced by a specified agent, place, or time
Attributed the painting to Titian.
Attributed the vase to 18th-century Japan.

Ascribe

(transitive) To attribute a cause or characteristic to someone or something.
One may ascribe these problems to the federal government; however, at this stage it is unclear what caused them.
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Attribute

A quality or characteristic inherent in or ascribed to someone or something.

Ascribe

(transitive) To attribute a book, painting or any work of art or literature to a writer or creator.
It is arguable as to whether we can truly ascribe this play to Shakespeare.

Attribute

An object associated with and serving to identify a character, personage, or office
Lightning bolts are an attribute of Zeus.

Ascribe

To believe in or agree with; subscribe.

Attribute

(Grammar) A word or phrase syntactically subordinate to another word or phrase that it modifies; for example, my sister's and brown in my sister's brown dog.
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Ascribe

To attribute, impute, or refer, as to a cause; as, his death was ascribed to a poison; to ascribe an effect to the right cause; to ascribe such a book to such an author.
The finest [speech] that is ascribed to Satan in the whole poem.

Attribute

A characteristic or quality of a thing.
His finest attribute is his kindness.

Ascribe

To attribute, as a quality, or an appurtenance; to consider or allege to belong.
More than good-will to me attribute naught.
Ascribes his gettings to his parts and merit.
And fairly quit him of the imputed blame.

Attribute

An object that is considered typical of someone or some function, in particular as an artistic convention.
The eagle and the bolt of lightning are attributes of Jove.

Ascribe

Attribute or credit to;
We attributed this quotation to Shakespeare
People impute great cleverness to cats
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Attribute

(grammar) A word that qualifies a noun.

Attribute

(logic) That which is predicated or affirmed of a subject; a predicate; an accident.

Attribute

An option or setting belonging to some object.
This packet has its coherency attribute set to zero.
A file with the read-only attribute set cannot be overwritten.

Attribute

(programming) A semantic item with which a method or other code element may be decorated.
Properties can be marked as obsolete with an attribute, which will cause the compiler to generate a warning if they are used.

Attribute

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Attribute

A numeric value representing the colours of part of the screen display.

Attribute

To ascribe (something) to a given cause, reason etc.

Attribute

To associate ownership or authorship of (something) to someone.
This poem is attributed to Browning.

Attribute

To ascribe; to consider (something) as due or appropriate (to); to refer, as an effect to a cause; to impute; to assign; to consider as belonging (to).
We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it.
The merit of service is seldom attributed to the true and exact performer.

Attribute

That which is attributed; a quality which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in, a person or thing; an essential or necessary property or characteristic.
But mercy is above this sceptered away; . . .It is an attribute to God himself.

Attribute

Reputation.

Attribute

A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure; as, a club is the attribute of Hercules.

Attribute

Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective.

Attribute

A construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished;
Self-confidence is not an endearing property

Attribute

An abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity

Attribute

Attribute or credit to;
We attributed this quotation to Shakespeare
People impute great cleverness to cats

Attribute

Decide as to where something belongs in a scheme;
The biologist assigned the mushroom to the proper class

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