attribute

Pluralattributes

Formsattributes, attributing, attributed

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A feature or quality that something or someone has.

   Like the color or size that helps describe something.

   Kindness is the attribute she values most in her friends.

   The car has many useful attributes, like good brakes and bright lights.

   Similarquality, trait, characteristic, feature, property

   Note
2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To say that a certain person made or owns something.

   Like putting a name tag on something to show who made it.

   Historians attribute the painting to a little-known artist.

   She attributes the song to her grandfather.

   Similarascribe, credit, assign, accredit

   Note
3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To explain something as being caused by a particular thing.

   Like pointing to the reason behind something that happened.

   Doctors attribute his recovery to good food and rest.

   She attributes her success to years of hard work.

   Similarimpute, lay

   Note
4. 4
   nouncountable

   An object that stands for a certain person or role, often used in art.

   Like a superhero's symbol that tells you who they are without a name.

   In the painting, the lion is an attribute of Saint Mark.

   Artists gave the goddess her usual attributes: a bow and a crescent moon.

   Similarsymbol, emblem

   Note
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A word that describes or adds meaning to a noun.

   Like a describing word added to tell you more about a thing.

   In 'blue sky,' the word 'blue' is an attribute.

   An adjective can act as an attribute to describe a noun.

   Similarqualifier

   Note
6. 6
   nouncountable

   A setting or piece of information that belongs to an object.

   Like the settings on a phone that you can turn on or off.

   You can change the color attribute of the button.

   Each shape stores its size as an attribute.

   Similarproperty, setting, parameter

   Note
7. 7
   nouncountable

   A label you add to code to give it extra meaning.

   Like a sticky note on a page that tells you what to do with it.

   Add an attribute above the method to mark it for testing.

   The framework reads each attribute to decide how to run the code.

   Similarannotation

   Note
8. 8
   nouncountable

   A quality that is said to belong to a subject.

   Like a quality, such as warm or heavy, that we say a thing has.

   In logic, 'being red' is an attribute of the apple.

   Philosophers ask which attributes truly belong to a thing.

   Similarproperty, quality, predicate

   Note

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