unattributable
- adjective
- /ˌʌnəˈtrɪbjʊtəbl/
:
no atribuible
- Saying that behavior is obsessive, mad, or insane is saying that it is unattributable—it is not possible to attribute reliable motives, reasons, and intentions for actions, and so other explanations must be found.
Examples
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And without sophisticated early warning systems, a nuclear attack might be unattributable or attributed incorrectly.
Academic text (2011) -
The scientist presented findings that were largely unattributable to a specific researcher or institution.
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Images such as this, if viewed in isolation, say on a museum wall, would be all but unattributable.
Academic text (2003) -
An unattributable story.
Blog text (25) -
And thus what is developed is, happily, inextricable, unattributable, nonreferable—I might also say unidentifiable.
Academic text (1999) -
Many of the data points in the study remained unattributable, leaving the sources of errors unclear.
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In the review, the opinions expressed were unattributable and could not be linked to any particular expert.
Synonyms
1
6.4
A text without a known author or source
1
6.3
Not having a named or known source of information
Cannot be traced to any one cause or person
Having no known cause or beginning
Antonyms
How Attributable
Surface Forms
Morphology
unattributable = attributable (transparent) = un + attribute + able
Formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to 'attributable'; the negated meaning is directly derivable.
Etymology
Unattributable begins with un- meaning 'not' and uses attribute, which means 'to say something comes from a person or source' and can be remembered like the word tribute, which is about giving. So, unattributable means it cannot be linked to any particular source.