Attain vs. Obtain – How to Use Each Correctly

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Attain vs. Obtain – What’s the Gist?

These two English verbs sometimes get interchanged, but they are not synonyms, which means they are not substitutable.

  • Attain is a verb.
  • Obtain is also a verb.

Occasionally, the malapropic switch comes when choosing to use obtain for attain.

attain versus obtain

How to Use Attain in a Sentence

Attain definition: The verb attain acts as both a transitive (showing action) and an intransitive verb (expressing action).

The transitive denotations are to reach or to achieve an end; or to accomplish.

For example:

  • The runner attained his goal of running under a six-minute mile. (Past Tense Verb)
  • Through all the hard work of diet and exercise, the woman attained the dress size she desired. (Past Tense Verb)
  • Sensible living and good fortune allowed the elderly couple to attain a long and happy life. (Infinitive)

Look at attaining something as reaching or achieving something.

How to Use Obtain in a Sentence

Obtain definition: Obtain also has transitive and intransitive functions.

As a transitive verb, it has the following nuances: to get or to acquire, usually by planned action or effort.

For example:

  • The attorney obtained the evidence after much pursuit on her part. (Past Tense Verb)
  • I was able to obtain two tickets to tonight’s sold out concert. (Present Tense Verb)

The meaning of obtain as an intransitive verb is to apply or to be prevalent.

For example:

  • After years of change, the former customs no longer obtain for the current generation. (Past Tense Verb)

Admittedly, it is unlikely that people would use the above meaning with any regularity. It’s just a fascinating etymological tidbit.

Look at obtaining something as simply acquiring it.

Outside Examples of Attain vs. Obtain

  • Women’s rights activists, together with female scientists, recognized that such biased studies jeopardized their efforts to attain equality. Helen Hamilton Gardener challenged Hammond in the pages of Popular Science Monthly and then went on to become “the most potent factor” in Congressional passage of the 19th Amendment. When she died in 1925, Gardener donated her brain to science to prove the intellectual equality of women. The New York Times headline declared: “Woman’s Brain Not Inferior to Men’s.” As Gardener knew all too well, the quest to find sex differences in brains has political as well as scientific implications. –The Wall Street Journal
  • Gen. Maria Barrett and younger sister Brig. Gen. Paula Lodi are each accomplished in their own fields. But together they have become the first two sisters, the Army believes, to attain the general’s rank in the service’s 244-year history. –USA Today
  • Police later determined that her explanation was false. She never graduated from nursing school, according to her arrest report, and she created a fake Illinois nursing license, which she used to obtain a Nevada nursing license in 2009. –Las Vegas Review-Journal
  • Cuomo suggested that using the full powers of the Defense Production Act would shorten production timelines. “The only way we could obtain these ventilators is from the federal government, period,” he said. “There’s a federal law, where the federal government can say to manufacturers, ‘You must produce this product.’ I understand the federal government’s point that many companies have come forward and said, ‘We want to help.’ And General Motors and Ford and people are willing to get into the ventilator business. –The Washington Post

Phrases That Use Attain and Obtain

There are few phrases that use the word attain or obtain, but there are a couple, including:

Attain a goal: To accomplish a goal with some industry.

  • By grading homework for several days in a row, the teacher attained a goal of being work-free over the weekend.

Obtain (something): To get something requiring some planning.

  • She obtained a spouse by using several dating apps, which helped her meet people.

How to Remember These Words

These two words have similar connotations but have different nuances. A good way to remember the difference is to equate attain with the word achieve. Both words start with the letter a.

With the term obtain, think of the word object. You get an object just like you get something you obtain, and both of these words start with the syllable ob.

Quiz: Attain or Obtain

  1. To _______ the reading goal, she adopted a rigorous schedule of study.
  2. He _______ his license to practice medicine.
  3. The MMA fighter _______ a black eye.
  4. The professional student _______ the highest degree she could in the field.

Article Summary

Is attain or obtain correct? These two have the potential of being easily mixed up because the meanings are similar. They are not synonyms, however, and cannot be interchanged.

A fascinating situation occurs between these two words called a malapropism. These are words that are similar to one another but become humorously incorrect when interchanged. When obtain is misused for attain it can become a malapropism.

By the way, this term is so named after a character in The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan called Mrs. Malaprop, who mixed up words with high comedic effect.

Precision in communication will help here. If you mean an accomplishment, choose attain. If you mean to get, pick obtain.

  • Attain functions as a verb.
  • Obtain also functions as a verb.

Quiz Answers

  1. Attain
  2. Obtained
  3. Obtained
  4. Attained