misattribute

/mɪsˈatɹɪbjˌuːt/

/mɪsˈætɹɪbjˌuːt/

to misattribute

MAIN VERB

to incorrectly state what or who created or caused something

Examples

1. Subjects misattributed this arousal as feelings for the attractive female experimenter.

2. Well, she was misattributing his aggressive response as love.

3. You can even misattribute that.

4. You can even misattribute phony arousal, arousal that isn't even coming from your body.