ascribable

Ascribable is an English adjective meaning capable of being attributed or credited to a particular source, cause, agent, or quality. It is used when discussing whether a result, effect, or trait can legitimately be ascribed to something else. For example, “The improvement in test scores is largely ascribable to the new curriculum” or “The delay is ascribable to miscommunication rather than to the team’s effort.”

Etymology and form: The word is formed from the verb ascribe, which itself derives from Latin ascribere, with the common English suffix -able that turns verbs into adjectives meaning “able to be.” Ascribe means to attribute, assign, or credit something to a source or cause.

Usage notes: Ascribable is relatively formal and may appear in analytic, scholarly, or literary writing. It typically governs a to-phrase, as in “ascribable to X.” In some contexts, synonyms such as attributable or imputable may be preferred, depending on nuance: for instance, attributing a result to a cause rather than merely recognizing it; imputing responsibility or blame. The noun forms related to the concept are ascribability and ascription.

See also: ascribe, attribution, attributable, imputable, ascription.