Roger Manvell
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If you have difficulty choosing whether to use obtain or attain in a sentence, don’t worry, we get it. Both can mean “to get” or “to acquire,” and in some situations can be used synonymously, but one or the other might be more appropriate depending on what is being acquired and how. One clue is their respective etymologies: obtain comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin verb obtinēre, meaning “to hold on to, possess,” while attain’s Anglo-French ancestor is ateindre, meaning “to reach” or “to accomplish.” Accordingly, obtain is usually the word used when you are acquiring, by planned effort, a tangible object—something you can hold. “We are having trouble obtaining the supplies we need” sounds natural, for example, while “Have you attained the sugar and flour I asked for?” does not. Reflecting its roots (and also implying effort), attain is often used in the same way as achieve, as in “After decades of hard work she attained her goal of earning a PhD.” Of course, one can also obtain intangible things, such as power or information, so consider this advice something to hold onto and consider when the moment arises—you needn’t cling to it.
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Examples of obtain in a Sentence
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
In 2022, about 96% of abortions obtained by Arizona women were before 15 weeks, according to state health department data.
—Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Domestic violent extremists have increasingly shared tactics with each other on using guns to attack electric power stations in a move that likely escalates the threat to US critical infrastructure, according to a Department of Homeland Security bulletin obtained last year by CNN.
—Karina Tsui, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
According to photos obtained by PEOPLE, Michael Jackson's children Paris and Bigi (formerly known as Blanket) were in attendance at their uncle's memorial.
—Jack Irvin, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Obtain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obtain. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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obtain
verb
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