acquire

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verb

Definition of ACQUIRE

1

to come to have gradually <from years of working two jobs, he has acquired the ability to get by on only a few hours of sleep a day>

Synonyms acquire, cultivate, form

Related Words absorb, adopt, embrace, take in, take on; gain, get, obtain; achieve, attain, reach; foster, nourish, nurture, promote

Near Antonyms abandon, desert, forsake; cast, discard, ditch, dump, fling (off or away), jettison, junk, reject, scrap, shed, shuck (off), slough (also sluff), throw away, throw out, unload

Antonyms lose

2

to receive as return for effort <acquired a reputation for always arriving at his friends' house just as they were sitting down to dinner>

Synonyms acquire, attain, bag, bring in, capture, carry, come by, draw, gain, garner, get, knock down, land, make, obtain, procure, pull down, realize, reap, secure, win

Related Words clear, gross, net; accomplish, achieve, notch (up), score; accumulate, amass, draw, rack up; catch, pick up; annex, occupy, take over; reacquire, reattain, recapture, regain, remake

Near Antonyms accord, give, grant, pay; give up, hand over, part (with), relinquish, surrender, yield

Antonyms forfeit, lose