# attributed

/əˈtɹɪbjətɪd/ (US) · /ɐtɹˈɪbjuːtɪd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/attributed
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. assigned to a cause or creator

verb · CEFR B2

to say that a particular person wrote something, said something, or caused something to happen.

For teachers: to ascribe a work, statement, or event to a specific person, cause, or origin. Often used in the passive voice with the preposition 'to'.

- The beautiful painting was attributed to a famous artist from the 1800s.
- The sudden increase in local temperatures was attributed to a combination of urban heat islands and shifting atmospheric currents.

Usage: Commonly follows the pattern 'X is attributed to Y'.

### 2. having a specific quality

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal · Technical

having a specific quality or symbol connected to it.

For teachers: possessing or decorated with a specific attribute or symbolic quality. In art history, it refers to a figure identified by a specific object.

- The statue of the goddess was easily identified by her attributed shield and spear.
- The attributed characteristics of the protagonist in the early chapters serve as a foil for his eventual moral decline.

Teaching tip: This adjectival use is rare outside of academic contexts like art history or literary analysis.

## Examples

- The success of the project is attributed to hard work.
- The sudden crash in the software was attributed to a memory leak that the developers missed during testing.
- While the quote is widely attributed to the famous author, historical records suggest it actually originated from an anonymous editorial published several decades earlier.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.