ascribe

Verb

ascribe (third-person singular simple present ascribes, present participle ascribing, simple past and past participle ascribed)

1. (transitive) To regard as arising from a specified cause or source.
   • One may ascribe these problems to the federal government; however, at this stage it is unclear what caused them.
   • Thus the Aſſe having a peculiar mark of a croſſe made by a black liſt down his back, and another athwart, or at right angles down his ſhoulders; common opinion aſcribes this figure unto a peculiar ſignation; ſince that beaſt had the honour to bear our Saviour on his back.1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Same [i.e., the Blacknesse of Negroes]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 6th...

   Synonyms:

   accredit, attribute, impute

2. (transitive) To attribute (a book, painting, or any other work of art or literature) to a writer or creator.
   • It is arguable as to whether we can truly ascribe this play to Shakespeare.
   • […]and two enormous Scottish poems, the Buik of Alexander, which has been improbably ascribed to Barbour, and Sir Gilbert Hay's Buik of Alexander the Conquerour; one nearly complete Prose Life of Alexander and fragments of four others; a stanzaic translation of the Fuerres de Gadres which survives...2012, William Matthews, The Tragedy of Arthur, University of California Press, page 68

   Synonyms:

   attribute

3. (nonstandard) To believe in or agree with; to subscribe.
   • A survey of the literature reveals that many who have commented on the signaling of animals ascribe to the view that all of their communicative signals are manifestations of emotion or affect.1997, James A. Russell, José Miguel Fernández-Dols, The Psychology of Facial Expression, →ISBN, page 133
   • If we take a holistic view of human beings, we ascribe to the idea that humans are multidimensional and that they are greater than the sum of their parts – for example, their physical, psychological and spiritual aspects.2010, Beverley Joan Taylor, Reflective Practice for Healthcare Professionals: A Practical Guide, →ISBN