attributes
attributes — noun
- attributessingular
- attributesesplural
1. a quality, feature, or characteristic that belongs to a person or thing — for ex
a quality, feature, or characteristic that belongs to a person or thing — for example, patience in a teacher or light weight in a phone
Patience is an attribute that every good nurse needs in her work.
attribute + that-clause describing the quality
Anong listed honesty and kindness as the key attributes of a true friend.
The phone's light weight is the attribute most buyers care about.
The car's most appealing attribute is how little fuel it uses.
What attributes do you look for when you hire a new team member?
- quality
more general; can refer to both good and bad features
- characteristic
more formal; often used in scientific or technical descriptions
- trait
typically used for personality or behaviour, not physical objects
- feature
often used for products, software, or physical appearance
attributes — verb
- attributespresent simple I / you / we / they
- attributeses3rd person singular
- attributesing-ing form
- attributesedpast simple
1. to say or believe that something is the result of a particular cause
to say or believe that something is the result of a particular cause
Mira attributed the delay to heavy traffic on the bridge.
attribute + result + to + cause
Doctors attribute the rise in asthma cases to poor air quality.
The coach attributed the team's success to months of hard training.
Many historians attribute the fall of the empire to weak leadership.
- ascribe
more formal; used in academic or official writing
- put down to
informal phrasal verb alternative; common in spoken English
- blame on
implies the cause is negative or someone is at fault
文法句型
attribute + something + to + something
用法筆記
Object must be an outcome or event, and the complement after 'to' must be its perceived cause. Frequently used in passive: 'The crash was attributed to pilot error.'
2. to believe or say that someone or something has a particular quality or characte
to believe or say that someone or something has a particular quality or characteristic
People often attribute patience to Quinn, but he says he just listens well.
attribute + quality + to + person
You should not attribute laziness to a child who is simply tired.
The villagers attribute magical powers to the old stone in the square.
Critics attribute coldness to the director's style, though fans call it restraint.
- ascribe
more formal; interchangeable in most contexts with this sense
- credit with
used specifically for positive qualities or achievements
文法句型
attribute + something + to + someone/something
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is a quality or trait, not an event or outcome. The 'to' complement names the person or thing said to possess that quality.
常見錯誤
3. to say that a work of art, idea, or object was created by or first came from a p
to say that a work of art, idea, or object was created by or first came from a particular person, time, or place
Experts attribute the painting to a student of Rembrandt, not the master himself.
attribute + artwork + to + creator
The poem was long attributed to an unknown monk from the twelfth century.
passive: be attributed to + creator
Archaeologists attribute the pottery to a tribe that lived in the valley.
Scholars attribute the earliest version of the story to Persian folklore.
文法句型
attribute + something + to + someone/something
用法筆記
Subject is usually an expert, scholar, or institution making a judgement about origin. Frequently passive: 'is attributed to.' Distinguish from sense 1: the object is a created work (painting, text, invention), not an event.
4. to place something into a particular class or category according to a system
to place something into a particular class or category according to a system
The museum attributes each artifact to a specific historical period.
attribute + object + to + category
Librarians attribute the new books to either fiction or nonfiction sections.
The software attributes each expense to the correct budget category automatically.
Botanists attributed the newly found plant to the orchid family.
- classify
the standard everyday word for this meaning
- assign
more about allocation than classification; 'assign to a group' overlaps
- categorise
emphasises placing into labelled groups
文法句型
attribute + something + to + category
用法筆記
Formal; most common in academic, technical, or institutional contexts. In everyday English, 'classify' or 'put into' is more natural. Distinguish from sense 1: the 'to' complement names a category, not a cause.