attaining

verb

present participle of attain
1
as in achieving
to obtain (as a goal) through effort Napoléon had attained mastery of much of Europe at that point

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in earning
to receive as return for effort with hard work she will inevitably attain success in her chosen profession

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of attaining Beyond attaining eternal beloved status by Cubs fans for finally bringing a World Series title back to the North Side, their run to immortality had a profound impact on multiple levels. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026 EchoStar sold wireless spectrum to SpaceX last year, attaining a minority stake in the company ahead of its blockbuster IPO in June. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026 In fact, Anthropic’s widening its strategy for attaining new compute. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026 Devotion to the Amida Buddha is associated with a good death and rebirth in the Pure Land, a domain believed to be conducive to attaining buddhahood and enlightenment. — Mimi Hanaoka, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026 This older world is often focused on common American ideals of individualism and grit as the primary tools for attaining personal success. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 In other words, what happens when their agreeable or polite approach to attaining something doesn’t work? — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 But the White House cut its offices and weakened its ability to follow up with cases, as well as slashed funding to research on disparities that people of color face in getting diagnosed and attaining resources for disabilities. — Claire Sibonney, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 What came to me was a simple but valuable intuition that healing is not about attaining the grace of God, but about the loving freedom that comes from reflecting God! — Dilshad Khambatta Eames, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attaining
  1. achieving
  2. earning
  3. winning
  4. gaining
  5. reaping
  6. obtaining
  7. garnering
  8. making
Verb
  • Tantalizing opportunities may be found in copper-oxide ceramics known as cuprates, but achieving them requires first understanding how the superconducting phenomenon emerges at relatively warm temperatures.
    — Sven Badoux, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Neither capability has been demonstrated in this experiment, and achieving them would require further research.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of achieving
Verb
  • Perusini started out in the music industry, earning a living licensing songs and making and selling mix CDs in the early aughts.
    — HubSpot, HubSpot, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Presently, in this de jure socialist country that officially condemns capitalism, markets and the imperative of earning hard cash shape people’s daily lives.
    — Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of earning
Verb
  • Attendees were enthusiastic about Talarico’s prospects and the possibility of a Democrat winning statewide in Texas.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Simpson, 60, is a former state Senate president who served in the upper chamber for 10 years before winning the agriculture commissioner position in 2022.
    — Liv Caputo, Miami Herald, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of winning
Verb
  • Research applications could begin gaining traction in the late 2020s, with more substantial materials-discovery applications potentially emerging during the 2030s.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The analyst said that Vera Rubin is gaining momentum, though details on next year's Rubin Ultra were lighter than expected.
    — TipRanks.com Staff, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of gaining
Verb
  • Even the red carpet is reaping the benefit; just take Carey Mulligan’s pleated silver gown, for instance.
    — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2026
  • That’s a question worth pondering only if the NBA wants the W’s growth plan to be something more nuanced than putting Caitlin Clark on the floor and reaping ad revenue.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of reaping
Verb
  • The copilot was identified as 20-year-old Natalia Gadelha Filgueiras, an aspiring airline pilot who earned her wings before obtaining her driver's license, according to a report.
    — Stephen Sorace , Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The process for obtaining revocable consent currently involves filing a petition with the Department of Transportation, which then must hold a public hearing.
    — Digital Producer, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of obtaining
Verb
  • In the scenic Colorado mountain town, the movie became a word-of-mouth sensation after garnering near-euphoric reviews.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
  • That’s more than double the cash Tesla’s been garnering from operations in the last few quarters, meaning that will have a much bigger cash deficit in the final three months of 2026.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of garnering
Verb
  • Black, who helped found private equity giant Apollo Global Management, accused Garcia of making maliciously false statements, citing statements the ranking member of the House oversight committee made in interviews.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Officials underscored the progress students have been making in the classroom.
    — Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of making

Browse Nearby Words

attained
attaining
attainment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Attaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attaining. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All