ascribe ability

/əˈskraɪb əˈbɪləti/

verb phrase

  1. to say or believe that someone or something has a particular skill, talent, or capacity

    C1

    transitive: ascribe ability to someone or something

    • "The teacher ascribed great ability to Maria."B1
    • "Critics ascribed exceptional ability to the young pianist."B2
    • "The researchers ascribed her remarkable ability to solve complex problems to years of focused training."C1
    • "She ascribes her musical talent to her parents, who are both musicians."B2

Common mistakes

  • ascribe someone ability→ascribe ability to someone

    Use to after ability when identifying the person who has it.

Collocations

ascribe ability toascribe great ability to someoneascribe exceptional ability to someoneascribe the ability to learn to someoneascribe talent to someoneascribe success to someone or something

Word family

ascribeascribedascribingascription