ascribe

American  

[uh-skrahyb] / əˈskraɪb /

verb (used with object)

• ascribes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ascribed,
  past participle,  past
• ascribing
  present participle

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.

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ascribe British  

/ 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

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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

• ascribable
  adjective
• unascribed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ascribing
  present
• ascribed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ascribe
  simple
• ascribes
  simple
• have ascribed
  perfect
• has ascribed
  perfect
• am ascribing
  progressive
• are ascribing
  progressive
• is ascribing
  progressive
• have been ascribing
  perfect progressive
• has been ascribing
  perfect progressive

Past

• ascribed
  simple
• had ascribed
  perfect
• was ascribing
  progressive
• were ascribing
  progressive
• had been ascribing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ascribe
  simple
• will have ascribed
  perfect
• will be ascribing
  progressive
• will have been ascribing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ascribe ascribes ascribed ascribing

If you’re a seasoned people-mover rider, luxury is probably the last word you’d ascribe to the vehicle another mid-century 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

Analysts ascribe that partly to higher inflation and larger federal budget deficits but also to hopes for stronger economic growth—driven by private-sector investment in areas such as AI infrastructure and renewable energy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

Investors are willing to ascribe value to the longer-term optionality that comes with its vertical integration strategy and its leveraging of technology to grow market share.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025

I did not ascribe any intentions to these men.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Today, MS ascribes no value to Resolution in its base case for either company, Anand says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

Papic ascribes a 60% probability to the conflict ending in approximately two weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

He ascribes Poland's rapid military build-up to "first of all, the geopolitical situation, but also, the experience of history."

From BBC ● May 2, 2025

Lu ascribes the game’s longevity to none other than community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025

Of the two existing theories, the one, which is essentially European, ascribes the ripening changes wholly to the action of living organisms—the bacteria present in the cheese.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

With this in mind, we ascribed a third of agility to Glassdoor’s rating of a company’s culture and values.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

Liberty ascribed NV Energy’s decision to new “market circumstances” in the latter’s home service region.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

The company ascribed clear numbers to what management called “improving AI adoption,” highlighting three AI-linked business that had achieved over $1 billion in annual recurring revenue as of the end of the first quarter.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

Hamilton has ascribed his improvement in form after a difficult 2025 to "a change of attitude".

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

I tilt my head, feeling a calm that cannot be ascribed to the situation.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

“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

“I absolutely do not agree with that statement. In Bangladesh, our high commissioners talk to all political parties without ascribing any labels,” says Ms Sikri.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024

Things feel different now, and without ascribing too much power to Taylor Swift, I actually think she has something to do with it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2024

I tell you what, Mose, this sure is somebody’s kind of truth, but I wouldn’t be ascribing it to God.”

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

Related Words

• attribute
• impute