Accredited vs Credited
Accredited and Credited are two words that are often confused due to the similarity in their meanings. Strictly speaking their meanings are indeed different. The word ‘accredited’ is used in the sense of ‘attributed’ as in the sentences
1. This saying is accredited to Charles Dickens.
2. All virtues are accredited to the Almighty.
In both the sentences, you can see that the word ‘accredited’ is used in the sense of ‘attributed’ and hence, the first sentence would mean ‘this saying is attributed to Charles Dickens’, and the second sentence would mean ‘all virtues are attributed to the Almighty’
It is interesting to note that the word ‘accredited’ is often followed by the preposition ‘to’. In the sentences given above, you can see that the word is followed by ‘to’. On the other hand, the word ‘credited’ is used in the sense of ‘added to’ or ‘bestowed with’ as in the sentences below.
1. Your account is credited with a few dollars.
2. An artist is credited with the quality of imagination.
In the first sentence, you can see that the word ‘credited’ is used in the sense of ‘added to’ and hence, it would mean ‘a few dollars are added to your account’. In the same way, the word is used in the sense of ‘bestowed with’ in the second sentence and hence, the sentence would mean ‘an artist is bestowed with the quality of imagination’.
It is interesting to note that the word ‘accredited’ sometimes is used in the sense of ‘recommend’ as in the sentence ‘The University was accredited to the status of autonomy’. In this sentence, the word ‘accredited’ is used in the sense of ‘recommended’ and hence, the sentence would mean ‘the university was recommended the status of autonomy’.