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
Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Dec. 2025
Videos obtained and geolocated by CNN to that location in Zikim show a crushed, overturned aid truck amid a pile of debris.
—Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 3 Dec. 2025
Prosecutors had until Wednesday to obtain an indictment against Chicago Laugh Factory manager Nathan Griffin, who had been charged with forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
More restrictions on how mobile phone carriers and apps are allowed to collect and share location data – and on how the government is allowed to obtain and use location information about people – could help protect your privacy.
—Emilee Rader, The Conversation, 3 Dec. 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 4 Dec. 2025.
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obtain
verb
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