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imputable

imputable

8.6
Able to be blamed on a person or caused by something
  • adjective
  • /ˈɪmpjʊtəbl/
  • Formal
translation icon : imputable
  • The foreseen evil effect of a man's action is not morally imputable to him, provided that (1) the action in itself is directed immediately to some other result, (2) the evil effect is not willed either in itself or as a means to the other result, (3) the permitting of the evil effect is justified by reasons of proportionate weight.

Examples

  • Although the International Court of Justice ruled in the Wall case that the Charter does not allow the use of force in self-defense against a nonstate actor other than one whose actions are imputable.

    Academic text (2016)
  • The error was imputable to a misunderstanding between the team members.

  • His actions were directly imputable to the lack of proper training provided.

  • The damage caused by the storm was imputable to the negligence of the city officials.

Synonyms

due
vsimputable
3.1

Happening because of something or someone

is broader, covering attribution to persons, causes, or general sources
ascribable
vsimputable
1 6.9

Able to be caused by a person or thing

is the same meaning but expressed with different wording
referable
vsimputable
7.1

Able to be linked to a cause or origin

can also apply specifically to a particular person as source

Antonyms

Not possible to say who or what it came from

Surface Forms

imputable positive

Morphology

imputable = impute (transparent) = impute + able

A regular adjectival formation from the verb 'impute' using the productive suffix '-able', yielding 'able to be attributed'.

Etymology

The word imputable comes from Latin parts im- 'to' or 'on' and putare 'to reckon'. A simple link is compute, which uses the same root and means 'to count' or 'work out'. So, imputable is something you can 'reckon' to a particular person or cause, meaning it can be said to belong to that person or cause.