imputation.

1. The attribution of a quality, cause or responsibility, often involving blame or a charge.

2. The replacement of missing data with estimated or inferred values under a stated method.

3. The assignment of an estimated economic value to an item or service without a directly observed market payment.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• imputation of blame
• imputation of responsibility

On the page

The imputation of blame was challenged through records of who had made the decision.

An imputation of responsibility required more than the person’s presence at the meeting.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Singular imputation; plural imputations. Also uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: responsibility analysis, evidence qualification, ethical distinction, institutional judgment. Disciplines: academic writing, ethics, legal-administrative reasoning. Commonness: uncommon.