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obtained

verb

past tense of obtain
as in earned
to receive as return for effort after years of proving herself, she obtained recognition as a serious journalist

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 obtained In January 2023, about 30 people, supported by a walkers’ rights charity called the Ramblers Association, challenged the closure and obtained formal recognition of the public right-of-way from the West Berkshire District Council. — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026 Comer died May 28 at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, according to a death certificate filed with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026 That does not appear to be shown in the videos The Bee obtained. — Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Born in remote Neerpelt, Belgium, Simons moved to Genk and obtained a degree in industrial and furniture design in 1991. — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026 The model died Sunday at a rehab facility, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records obtained by People. — Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026 According to Los Angeles County Superior Court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the 18-year-old, who’s one of six children shared by Pitt, 62, and Jolie, now has proof of publication, confirming her intent to change her name. — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026 Then at a local Republican meeting last fall, Rogers claimed the Senate seat was stolen from him, according to a video of the meeting obtained by NPR. — Sam Gringlas, NPR, 21 Sep. 2026 According to a police report obtained by NBC News, Brian showed police a bag of prescription pills that Panettiere was allegedly taking at the time of her death. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 14 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obtained
  1. earned
  2. gained
  3. won
  4. reaped
  5. garnered
  6. made
  7. got
  8. attained
Verb
  • Henderson earned his second interception of the night on the final play.
    — Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
  • His comments earned him a response from White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of earned
Verb
  • The state AGs and the WGA filed suit in July after federal regulators had approved the deal, and gained surprising traction in a series of early court rulings, giving opponents of the merger hope it would be curtailed or even fully blocked.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Google said on Friday that its Gemini model had hacked three other companies back in May, the first time the search giant has disclosed that one of its models autonomously gained access to third-party computer systems without permission.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of gained
Verb
  • The next year, women won equal right to credit cards and mortgages.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Both Davis and Washington were nominated for Academy Awards as actors — Davis won an Oscar trophy for best supporting actress — and the film earned a best picture nomination.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of won
Verb
  • All three are allegedly part of Ghost Town, a notorious gang from West Oakland that made headlines last year for a brazen high-end robbery spree that reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars and left victims traumatized, according to court records.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The company reaped about $900 million with its initial public offering.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of reaped
Verb
  • The circumstances surrounding Wells' death garnered national interest after the college football player went missing on the 4th of July after going on a boat trip with friends to Horn Island.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In 2025 alone, Vanity Fair’s video series—including Lie Detector, Scene Selection and Expert Reviews—garnered over 830M global views across the magazine’s YouTube and social channels.
    — Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of garnered
Verb
  • The next day, Leigh made one last desperate attempt to get her things.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Osubor, who also stars, made the film under the mentorship of 90s indie film stalwart Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup) follows an ambitious flower-delivery driver (Osubor) who gets drawn into the orbit of a powerful local figure called Big Daddy.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of made
Verb
  • One thing that has changed since the beginning of the charter is the relationship between cabinmates Kat and Gen, who used to be close until Gen got a little too comfortable.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • In 2016 Erickson’s Severance pilot made an annual list of best unproduced genre screenplays by BloodList—where other successes such as Bird Box (2018) and Don’t Worry Darling (2022) got their start.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of got
Verb
  • In this new culture, freedom was attained not through engagement in political struggle but through individual consumer choices.
    — Robert Rubsam, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Tennessee singer-songwriter, actor, and philanthropist hailed from a vanishing class, a 20th-century monocultural phenomenon who attained a household-name status that never lost its luster.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of attained

Browse Nearby Words

obtainable
obtained
obtaining
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Cite this Entry

“Obtained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtained. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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