ascribe

UK: /əˈskraɪb/ US: /əˈskraɪb/ ,(ə skrīb′)

Inflections of 'ascribe' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

ascribes

v 3rd person singular

ascribing

v pres p

ascribed

v past

ascribed

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

as•cribe /əˈskraɪb/   v. [~ + object + to + object] , -cribed, -crib•ing. 

1. to believe or consider (something or someone) to be the cause or source of (something):
   She ascribed her failures to bad luck.
2. to believe that (something) was made or done by (someone):
   ascribed this painting to Picasso.

as•crip•tion /əˈskrɪpʃən/  n. [uncountable] See -scrib-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

as•cribe  (ə skrīb′), v.t., -cribed, -crib•ing. 

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.

• Middle French. See shrive
• Latin ascrībere, equivalent. to a- a-⁵ + scrībere to scribe²; replacing Middle English ascrive
• late Middle English 1400–50

a•scrib′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. See attribute. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

ascribe / əˈskraɪb/ verb (transitive)

1. to credit or assign, as to a particular origin or period
2. to attribute as a quality; consider as belonging to: to ascribe beauty to youth

Etymology: 15th Century: from Latin ascrībere to enrol, from ad in addition + scrībere to write

asˈcribable adjective

USAGE
Ascribe is sometimes wrongly used where subscribe is meant: I do not subscribe (not ascribe) to this view