Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of attributing something to a source or cause: An imputation is the action of assigning responsibility, credit, or a particular quality to a person or thing.
   • A statement or suggestion that someone is guilty of something, especially a fault or crime: An imputation is an accusation or charge, often one that is indirect or implied rather than explicitly stated.

Usage and Examples

• Attributing to a source or cause:

  • The imputation of the painting to a famous artist increased its value. (The act of attributing the painting to a famous artist increased its value.)
  • He resented the imputation that his wealth was inherited rather than earned. (He resented the suggestion that his wealth was inherited rather than earned.)

• Attributing something dishonest or blameworthy:

  • She could not let the false imputation of theft stand without defending herself. (She could not let the false accusation of theft stand without defending herself.)
  • The article contained serious imputations about the politician's integrity. (The article contained serious accusations about the politician's integrity.)

Advanced Usage

• In legal or formal contexts: is often used in legal, ethical, or formal discussions to denote an accusation or the assignment of blame.
  • The defense lawyer challenged the imputation of motive presented by the prosecution.
• In statistical or technical contexts: In fields like statistics or finance, can refer to the process of assigning a value to missing data.
  • Data imputation techniques were used to handle the incomplete survey responses.

Variants and Related Words

• Impute (verb): To attribute or ascribe (especially something undesirable) to a person or cause.
  • They imputed the failure to poor planning.
• Imputable (adjective): Capable of being attributed to a cause.
  • The error was imputable to human oversight.

Synonyms

• Accusation: A charge of wrongdoing.
• Aspersion: An attack on someone's reputation.
• Attribution: The act of attributing something.
• Allegation: A claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong.

Antonyms

• Exoneration: The act of absolving someone from blame.
• Vindication: The action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To cast imputations on someone: To make accusations or suggestions against someone's character.
  • He was careful not to cast any imputations on his colleagues during the inquiry.

Noun

1. the attribution to a source or cause
   • the imputation that my success was due to nepotism meant that I was not taken seriously
2. a statement attributing something dishonest (especially a criminal offense)
   • he denied the imputation