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.
Examples of obtain in a Sentence
Emily Blackwood, People.com, 29 May 2025
Doreen Greenwald, who replaced Reardon as the president of the national union and is a former IRS employee, responded to Bruce’s concerns in an October 2023 letter also obtained by USA TODAY.
—Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 29 May 2025
For Peng, the difference is that while licenses in China are harder to obtain at the outset, once permission is granted, the government will be fully supportive.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 29 May 2025
Among those 79, records for four in Indian River County were previously publicly available, allowing reporters to obtain case details, but are now under seal.
—Hannah Critchfield, Sun Sentinel, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for obtain
Cite this Entry
“Obtain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obtain. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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obtain
verb
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