ascribe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
ascribes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ascribed,
past participle, past
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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
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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
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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:
She is almost painfully careful not to ascribe blame to the growing presence in Germany of Muslim immigrants, among whom there has been a hardening of anti-Zionist public pronouncements since Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
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 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
“Nonsense. You cannot ascribe emotions to a dybbuk.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Eurasia Group is one of the world’s leading geopolitical risk consultancies and it ascribes a two-thirds probability to the pause in hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz holding.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
Today, MS ascribes no value to Resolution in its base case for either company, Anand says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
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
Domnich duly ascribes to Hampel the credit of the Inventionshorn, but erroneously states that it was Haltenhoff of Hanau who made the first instrument.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various
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
From Lord Ruthven to Edward Cullen, vampires of print and film have long been ascribed Byronic glamour and charisma.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 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
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
I happen to regard the Laughing Man as some kind of super-distinguished ancestor of mine—a sort of Robert E. Lee, say, with the ascribed virtues held under water or blood.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
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
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
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