ascribe

CEFRC1

/əˈskɹaɪb/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To say that something is caused by or belongs to someone or something.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To believe in or agree with; to subscribe.

Examples

  • Most stereotypes ascribe negative characteristics to a group.

  • Some scholars ascribe the settlement of America to social unrest in Western Europe.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To attribute (a cause or characteristic) to someone or something.

  2. To regard as arising from a specified cause or source.

  3. To attribute (a book, painting, or any other work of art or literature) to a writer or creator.

More examples

In context

  • We ascribe his success to hard work.

  • It is arguable as to whether we can truly ascribe this play to Shakespeare.

  • One may ascribe these problems to the federal government; however, at this stage it is unclear what caused them.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Historians often blank the fall of the empire to internal corruption and weak leadership.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English ascriben, from Old French ascrivre (“inscribe, attribute, impute”), from Latin āscrībere (“to state in writing”), equivalent to a- + scribe.