Words / B2

uh-SKRYB/əˈskraɪb/

To ascribe is to say that something is caused by, or belongs to, a person or source: ascribe to; ascribed to. Attribute is a close twin; credit is for praise; blame is for fault (already in the dictionary). Ascribe the result to a named variable, then quote the r if given. Mix-up: ascribe vs describe; subscribe; do not write ascribe for a guess with no named source.

Meaning

To say that something is caused by, or belongs to, a person or source (ascribe to).

Examples

• “Ascribe the result to a named variable, then quote the r if given, the methods brief said.”
• “A painting ascribed to a named artist featured in the catalogue, which is the authorship sense — still date the attribution.”

Good to know

ascribe something to; ascribed to. Close: attribute / put down to. Contrast: describe / subscribe. Trap: a guess with no source. Methods, history, and science. Attribute a cause or authorship — name the variable or the artist.

Near in meaning

attribute, assign, put down to

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