Synonyms for attribute
əˈtrɪb yut; ˈæ trəˌbyutat·tribute

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.8 / 5 votes

1. attributeverb

   We may attribute to a person either that which belongs to him or that which we merely suppose to be his. We attribute to God infinite power. We may attribute a wrong intent to an innocent person. We may attribute a result, rightly or wrongly, to a certain cause; in such case, however, attribute carries always a concession of uncertainty or possible error. Where we are quite sure, we simply refer a matter to the cause or class to which it belongs or ascribe to one what is surely his, etc. Many diseases formerly attributed to witchcraft are now referred to the action of micro-organisms. We may attribute a matter in silent thought; we ascribe anything openly in speech or writing; King Saul said of the singing women, "They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands." We associate things which may have no necessary or causal relation; as, we may associate the striking of a clock with the serving of dinner, tho the two are not necessarily connected. We charge a person with what we deem blameworthy. We may impute good or evil, but more commonly evil.

   Synonyms:
   ascribe, assign, associate, charge, connect, impute, refer

   Antonyms:
   deny, disconnect, dissociate, separate, sever, sunder

   Preposition:
   It is uncharitable to attribute evil motives to (archaic unto) others.

2. attributenoun

   A quality (Latin qualis, such) — the "suchness" of anything, according to the German idiom — denotes what a thing really is in some one respect; an attribute is what we conceive a thing to be in some one respect; thus, while attribute may, quality must, express something of the real nature of that to which it is ascribed; we speak of the attributes of God, the qualities of matter. "Originally 'the attributes of God' was preferred, probably, because men assumed no knowledge of the actual qualities of the Deity, but only of those more or less fitly attributed to him." J. A. H. Murray. [Murray's "New English Dictionary"] Holiness is an attribute of God; the attributes of many heathen deities have been only the qualities of wicked men joined to superhuman power. A property (Latin proprius, one's own) is what belongs especially to one thing as its own peculiar possession, in distinction from all other things; when we speak of the qualities or the properties of matter, quality is the more general, property the more limited term. A quality is inherent; a property may be transient; physicists now, however, prefer to term those qualities manifested by all bodies (such as impenetrability, extension, etc.), general properties of matter, while those peculiar to certain substances or to certain states of those substances (as fluidity, malleability, etc.) are termed specific properties; in this wider use of the word property, it becomes strictly synonymous with quality. Compare CHARACTERISTIC; EMBLEM.

   Synonyms:
   property, quality

   Antonyms:
   being, essence, nature, substance

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.5 / 2 votes

1. attributeverb

   Synonyms:
   refer, assign, associate, apply, ascribe, charge, impute, connect

   Antonyms:
   divorce, disconnect, dissociate, dissever

2. attributenoun

   Synonyms:
   property, quality, characteristic, attainment, sign, mark, indication, manifestation

   Antonyms:
   correlative, viz, essence, nature, substance, etc, or, spuriously, affectation, misnomer, semblance, assumption, mask, veil

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.4 / 16 votes

1. property, attribute, dimensionnoun

   a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished

   "self-confidence is not an endearing property"

   Synonyms:
   prop, belongings, property, proportion, holding, dimension, place

2. attributeverb

   an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity

   Synonyms:
   dimension, property

3. impute, ascribe, assign, attributeverb

   attribute or credit to

   "We attributed this quotation to Shakespeare"; "People impute great cleverness to cats"

   Synonyms:
   depute, assign, delegate, designate, specify, ascribe, portion, set apart, put, allot, impute, arrogate

4. assign, attributeverb

   decide as to where something belongs in a scheme

   "The biologist assigned the mushroom to the proper class"

   Synonyms:
   depute, portion, assign, delegate, allot, specify, ascribe, designate, set apart, put, impute, arrogate

Matched Categories

1. • Concept
   • Judge

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. attributeverb

   Synonyms:
   ascribe, assign, refer, impute, consider as due

2. attributenoun

   Synonyms:
   quality, property, characteristic, peculiarity

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. attributenoun

   Synonyms:
   characteristic, peculiarity, predicate, symbol

2. attributeverb

   Synonyms:
   ascribe, impute, assign, refer, trace

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "attribute":

   attributes, assign, characteristic, allocate, ascribe, feature

How to pronounce attribute?

How to say attribute in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use attribute in a sentence?

1. John Colley:

   It’s the kind of valuation you would attribute to ... a Google or an Amazon.

2. Subodh Kumar:

   I don't attribute it as much as other people do only to the Chinese trying to reduce the value of their currency against the U.S. dollar, world economic growth has been slowing and markets have been ignoring that and now they're catching up with reality.

3. Godsteven Maro:

   To attribute the trend solely to the change in minimum temperature carries some subjectivity.

4. Peter Newsham:

   It's embarrassing for us to have a member of this agency out there illegally selling firearms, because people will attribute that behavior to every single one of us who wears this uniform.

5. Businessman David Humphreys:

   The meaning I took from Mr. Hancock's statement and tone of his comments was clear: He (Tom Schweich) is Jewish — in case you didn't know — and that being Jewish is a negative attribute for Tom Schweich's gubernatorial race.