Synonyms for attain
əˈteɪnat·tain

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 2 votes

1. attain

   A person may obtain a situation by the intercession of friends, he procures a dinner by paying for it. Attain is a lofty word, pointing to some high or desirable result; a man attains the mountain summit, he attains honor or learning as the result of strenuous and earnest labor. Even that usage of attain which has been thought to refer to mere progress of time carries the thought of a result desired; as, to attain to old age; the man desires to live to a good old age; we should not speak of his attaining his dotage. One may attain an object that will prove not worth his labor, but what he achieves is in itself great and splendid; as, the Greeks at Marathon achieved a glorious victory. Compare DO; GET; REACH.

   Synonyms:
   accomplish, achieve, acquire, arrive at, compass, earn, gain, get, grasp, master, obtain, procure, reach, secure, win

   Antonyms:
   abandon, fail, forfeit, give up, let go, lose, miss

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. attain

   Synonyms:
   reach, extend, master, arrive at, compass, earn, win, achieve, accomplish, get, obtain, acquire, gain, secure, grasp

   Antonyms:
   lose, fail, forfeit, miss, abandon, resign

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.0 / 2 votes

1. achieve, accomplish, attain, reachverb

   to gain with effort

   "she achieved her goal despite setbacks"

   Synonyms:
   touch, chance upon, give, progress to, carry through, hit, arrive at, pass on, fulfill, chance on, reach, fulfil, fall upon, extend to, strike, get hold of, make, get to, gain, execute, action, get through, happen upon, achieve, strive, pass, carry out, come across, reach out, turn over, accomplish, contact, strain, come upon, light upon, discover, hand

2. reach, hit, attainverb

   reach a point in time, or a certain state or level

   "The thermometer hit 100 degrees"; "This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour"

   Synonyms:
   touch, chance upon, shoot, strive, dispatch, progress to, hit, rack up, pass on, achieve, reach, light upon, fall upon, strike, arrive at, score, get hold of, make, get to, polish off, pip, collide with, gain, off, impinge on, give, slay, run into, happen upon, stumble, pass, come across, reach out, murder, tally, turn over, accomplish, contact, come to, strain, come upon, extend to, chance on, get through, bump off, remove, hand, discover

3. fall upon, strike, come upon, light upon, chance upon, come across, chance on, happen upon, attain, discoververb

   find unexpectedly

   "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake"

   Synonyms:
   detect, come over, chance upon, distinguish, excise, let out, hear, bring out, identify, hit, arrive at, disclose, let on, chance on, describe, get word, reach, take, key, fall upon, meet, strike, reveal, move, assume, enter upon, see, find out, collide with, coin, gain, encounter, give away, fall, divulge, walk out, impinge on, shine, affect, run into, scratch, happen upon, achieve, pick up, run across, come across, resonate, observe, get a line, notice, key out, mint, strickle, name, accomplish, impress, expose, take up, come to, expunge, unwrap, break, learn, come upon, light upon, get wind, discover, luck into, find, make

4. reach, make, attain, hit, arrive at, gainverb

   reach a destination, either real or abstract

   "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts"

   Synonyms:
   wee-wee, take, put on, micturate, bring in, construct, chance on, come upon, draw, stool, cook, have, piddle, hold, chance upon, piss, polish off, constitute, run into, remove, discover, light upon, do, reach, earn, make believe, contact, collide with, get to, shit, hand, defecate, lay down, name, pass water, off, stimulate, make headway, progress to, create, crap, derive, take a shit, pretend, make water, gain, ready, gather, strive, establish, extend to, realize, make up, strike, get through, dispatch, accomplish, give, relieve oneself, pull in, wee, induce, form, pee, benefit, make, strain, ca-ca, pull ahead, get, prepare, bump off, murder, advance, profit, take in, come across, get ahead, score, stumble, build, shoot, turn over, throw, slay, arrive at, pee-pee, tally, impinge on, reach out, spend a penny, pip, fall upon, pass, puddle, take a crap, rack up, clear, hit, produce, gain ground, nominate, acquire, achieve, come to, take a leak, touch, win, happen upon, get hold of, cause, urinate, work, fix, realise, seduce, pass on

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Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. attainverb

   Synonyms:
   procure (by effort), acquire, get, obtain, gain, win, secure, achieve, compass, accomplish, effect, hit

2. attainverb

   Synonyms:
   reach, arrive at, come to, attain to

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. attainverb

   Synonyms:
   achieve, compass, gain

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "attain":

   achieve, reach, meet, achieving, realize, obtain, accomplish

Suggested Resources

1. Attain

   Obtain vs. Attain -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Obtain and Attain.

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How to use attain in a sentence?

1. Chiedza Maizaiwana:

   Only focusing on grid extension and increasing generation capacity will not allow us to attain energy access for all by 2030.

2. Joseph Weizenbaum:

   Man is not a machine... Although man most certainly processes information, he does not necessarily process it in the way computers do. Computers and men are not species of the same genus... However much intelligence computers may attain, now or in the furture, theirs must always be an intelligence alien to genuine human problems and concerns.

3. Orison Swett Marden:

   We lift ourselves by our thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always, everywhere - your ideal of what you long to attain - the ideal of health, efficiency, success.

4. Emily Pham:

   I think (OU President David Boren) is only pleased to be recognized for a goal that the university has yet to attain, if it’s a goal that you don’t follow through on and you don’t commit your efforts to building an inclusive experience for people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA and other groups at OU, then your diversity numbers are worth nothing.

5. Mahatma Gandhi:

   The outward freedom that we shall attain will only be in exact proportion to the inward freedom to which we may have grown at a given moment. And if this is a correct view of freedom, our chief energy must be concentrated on achieving reform from within.