chief, great, key, main
defining, distinguishing, essential, necessary
Patience is an essential attribute for a teacher.

desirable, desired, important, positive, useful, valued
common
unique
divine, human
feminine, masculine
cultural, personal, physical, social
His physical attributes were much admired.

embody, have, possess

directly
solely
largely, mainly
in part, partially, partly
erroneously, falsely, incorrectly, mistakenly, wrongly
a quote that has often been falsely attributed to George Patton

to
They claim that one in twenty deaths can be directly attributed to air pollution.

be commonly attributed to, be generally attributed to, be usually attributed to, be widely attributed to
The goals commonly attributed to management are status, power, salary and security.
Climate change is widely attributed to the build-up of greenhouse gases.

Attribute is used with these nouns as the object:
blame, failure, meaning, problem, quotation, quote, responsibility, success