be attributable to

NOUN

[/bi əˈtrɪbjətəbəl tu/]

caused by or resulting from something

💡 Concept

The factory's record profits are attributable to one engineer's clever redesign.

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

Start Free Demo

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/bi əˈtrɪbjətəbəl tu/

🇬🇧 UK/biː əˈtrɪbjʊtəbəl tuː/

🌳Etymology

Prefixat--

Roottribut

Suffix--able

Origin

Derived from Latin 'attributus', the past participle of 'attribuere', meaning 'to assign or bestow'. The term evolved from its original sense of 'to allocate or grant' to encompass the meaning 'to ascribe a cause or origin to', reflecting a semantic extension in how causality and responsibility are expressed.

Breakdown

ad- (to, toward) + tribuere (to give, assign, allot) + -able (capable of being). The Latin root 'tribuere' means 'to distribute or grant', with the prefix 'ad-' indicating direction toward, and the suffix '-able' forming an adjective expressing capability or possibility.

🎵Rhyme

distributablecontributable

distributable

contributable

🔗Collocations

be largely attributable to

be directly attributable to

be partly attributable to

be primarily attributable to

be wholly attributable to

be attributable to factors

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“My terrible cooking skills are attributable to my mom never letting me in the kitchen.”

“The company's failure is attributable to poor management decisions.”

😄 Fun example

“His excellent grades are attributable to his habit of studying while eating pizza.”

“The increase in sales is attributable to the new marketing strategy.”

📚Related Words

Synonyms

due toowing tocaused byresulting from

Antonyms

independent ofunrelated to

attributeattributioncontributeascribe

Want to master 19,000+ words?

Start for Free 60s Demo

be attributable to — caused by or resulting from something

Example Sentences