assign vs distribute

assign and distribute both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
assign	No	No	Yes	No
distribute	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, distribute is a hypernym of assign; that is, distribute is a word with a broader meaning than assign:

Other hypernyms of assign include administer, allot, deal, deal out, dish out, dispense, dole out, lot, mete out, parcel out, shell out.

assign (verb)	distribute (verb)
select something or someone for a specific purpose	cause to become widely known
attribute or credit to	to arrange in a systematic order
decide as to where something belongs in a scheme	distribute or disperse widely
attribute or give	cause to be distributed
transfer one's right to	administer or bestow, as in small portions
give out	give to several people
make undue claims to having	release
give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)	be mathematically distributive
	be distributed or spread, as in statistical analyses
	spread throughout a given area