What does misattributing mean?
Misattributing means assigning credit, authorship, origin, or causation to the wrong person or source. It is often used when a quotation is falsely credited to a prominent figure, when a discovery is attributed to the wrong scientist, or when a creative work is linked to the wrong author. The word can also describe assigning a cause or explanation incorrectly, though this less common sense is related to its broader meaning of making a faulty attribution. In editorial, academic, legal, and historical contexts, the expression is especially useful because it identifies not merely an error, but an error in the connection made between something and its supposed source. Its prefix “mis-” marks the attribution as wrong, while “attributing” names the act of assigning origin, credit, or value. The term can be used broadly, but it is more precise and more formal than simply saying that something is wrong.
verbTo attribute a statement, quotation, discovery, or other work to the wrong person or source. It can also mean assigning a cause or explanation incorrectly.
- To assign a statement, quotation, discovery, achievement, or creative work to the wrong person, organization, or source.
- To assign a cause, origin, explanation, or category incorrectly.
"The article was careful not to misattribute the quotation to its original speaker."
"Several websites misattributing the quote to Einstein."
"The historian warned that the manuscript's author had been misattributing the document's original purpose."
A false attribution can make a genuine idea look stolen, a quotation look authentic, or a discovery belong to the wrong person.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does misattributing come from?
The word combines the prefix “mis-,” meaning wrongly, with “attribute,” which comes from Latin attribuere, “to assign or allot.” The related noun “attribution” names the assignment of something to a person, source, or cause, and “attributable” describes what can be assigned in that way. Adding “mis-” reverses the normal meaning: an attribution is made, but it is made to the wrong target.
Related word forms
How misattributing is actually used
The term is formal and usually implies an identifiable factual error. It is especially common in discussion of quotations, discoveries, creative works, historical documents, and scientific findings.
Easily confused with misattributing
Misquoting reproduces someone's words inaccurately, whereas misattributing assigns words or a work to the wrong person.
Misremembering concerns faulty recall, while misattributing concerns wrongly identifying who originated or said something.