ascribe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
ascribes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ascribed,
past participle, past
-
ascribing
present participle
-
to credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute.
The alphabet is usually ascribed to the Phoenicians.
-
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.
verb
-
to credit or assign, as to a particular origin or period
to ascribe parts of a play to Shakespeare
-
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
Synonym Usage
See attribute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ascribesimple
-
ascribessimple
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have ascribedperfect
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has ascribedperfect
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am ascribingprogressive
-
are ascribingprogressive
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is ascribingprogressive
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have been ascribingperfect progressive
-
has been ascribingperfect progressive
Past
-
ascribedsimple
-
had ascribedperfect
-
was ascribingprogressive
-
were ascribingprogressive
-
had been ascribingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ascribe
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ascrībere, equivalent to a- a- 5 + scrībere to scribe 2; replacing Middle English ascrive < Middle French. See shrive
Explanation
Ascribe means to give credit to, like if you ascribe the A you got on your group project to the hard work of your partners! Ascribe's Latin root is ascribere, meaning basically "to write in.'' Makes sense, because ascribe is often used to link writers to their words. Many a quirky quote, like "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter," is ascribed to that famous scribe Mark Twain. It can also be a way of blaming something — you might ascribe your bad attitude to your mom because she won't let you have cupcakes for dinner.
Vocabulary lists containing ascribe
The Write Stuff: Scrib, Script
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"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards
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Jane Eyre
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And most people contend that plagiarism, cheating and ghostwriting are all cut from the same cloth because they all lack the spark that we ascribe to truly original thinking and writing.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
If you’re a seasoned people-mover rider, luxury is probably the last word you’d ascribe to the vehicle another midcentury promo video called a “monster on wheels.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Rhind said Monday’s stock action “isn’t just an earnings hangover” but a rerating of Microsoft’s progress with AI — meaning that the market is coming to ascribe a higher multiple to the shares.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
They caution against accepting narratives that ascribe human traits to nonhuman things and suggest this incident was merely a case of poor security practices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
I did not ascribe any intentions to these men.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Papic ascribes a 60% probability to the conflict ending in approximately two weeks.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
As he spoke, Cenni removed his sock to reveal a large portion of his foot missing, an injury he ascribes to the kitchen attack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
What is important is that he is able to convince fanatic followers of the sacred mission he ascribes to himself as well as to them.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2023
"It bears noting that the court has never taken the position the defence ascribes to it: that former 'President Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned,'" Judge Chutkan wrote.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2023
Examination of the theory which ascribes part of the teaching of the later pagan moralists to Christian influence, 340.
From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of 2) by William Edward Hartpole Lecky
The analyst ascribed a $973 million valuation to EchoStar’s broadband and satellite businesses, while calling its wireless division “not worthless.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Her presence, too, is felt in the people who now inhabit the space, like her granddaughter Charley, 25, whose easy warmth recalls qualities long ascribed to the matriarch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
So does a third Jacobean miniature ascribed to an “ancient original,” now lost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
When StepStone adds the investment to its own portfolio, however, it typically values it at the higher price ascribed to the investment by the fund where it came from.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
I tilt my head, feeling a calm that cannot be ascribed to the situation.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
But it’s not like Altman doesn’t see the value in ascribing just a little bit of humanlike shine to A.I. models.
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
At the current $159 price tag, Jonas believes the market values SpaceX’s Starlink and rocket-launch business at $127 per share, ascribing just $32 of value to the company’s enterprise and consumer AI business.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
“But tonight, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett made it great again by ascribing to me an incident involving Ilya Shapiro.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Wall Street is essentially ascribing the majority of future GLP-1/obesity market share to a duopoly—Lilly and Novo, notwithstanding competition.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2025
When it came to my choices, I tried to be somewhat unpredictable, to prevent anyone from ascribing any sort of message to what I wore.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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