Attribute and Explain

Attribute

Attribute verb - To give the reason for or cause of.

Usage example: a psychotherapist who's a little too quick to attribute every emotional problem or character defect to an unhappy childhood

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Explain and attribute are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Explain" instead a verb "Attribute".

Explain verb - To give the reason for or cause of.

Usage example: can you explain your very odd behavior at the wedding reception?

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Attribute and explain are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Attribute" instead the word "Explain" as a verb or a noun.

power	attribute power	explain power
change	attribute change	explain change
part	attribute part	explain part
lack	attribute lack	explain lack
Other words: name, stuff, problem, nature, fact, bit, actions, behavior, skills, abilities, changes, motives.

Iago himself, when questioned on his motivation, simply refuses to explain anything...though there are those who attribute his actions to less incomprehensible motives.

Source: Card Carrying Villain / Theater
Another abusive attribute of Hank Hill is how he constantly contradicts himself when teaching Bobby which might explain the latter's Too Dumb to Live mentality.

Source: Abusive Parents / Western Animation
Not to be confused with Occam's Razor, although the two can end up being invoked together; many Conspiracy Theories, for example, assume complicated scenarios based on malicious intent to explain things which the two Razors would prefer to attribute to simple events based on incompetence.

Source: Hanlon's Razor

Cite this Source

Explain and Attribute. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/attribute/explain

Attribute & Explain. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/attribute/explain>.

Explain or Attribute. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/attribute/explain.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "attribute" and "explain" have occurred on timeline