What’s the Difference Between Attain and Obtain?
Attain means to “reach, achieve, or accomplish” through the means of hard work. Obtain means to “get or acquire something.”
Joe obtained a rare baseball card.
Attain vs obtain
Do you ever ask yourself whether attain or obtain would fit your writing best? These words have similar definitions, which is why many people use them interchangeably. But there’s a distinction between attain and obtain. We’ll elaborate below.
What does attain mean?
Attain is a verb that means “to succeed in something or achieve a goal.” The word implies that there was a lot of hard work or effort put into accomplishing something. For example, in the first sentence below, Gabriel put effort into campaigning to reach a certain position at the academy.
He attained a stress-free life through months of consistent meditation.
Erica said she had to leave home to attain her dream of becoming a doctor.
Dylan was frustrated because although he worked hard, he could never attain the recognition he deserved.
Years of practice helped her attain proficient skills on the cello.
What does obtain mean?
Obtain, on the other hand, is a verb that commonly means “to acquire possession of something.” While hard work or effort could play a role in how you acquired the object, that isn’t implicit.
For example, in the first sentence below, Carlos acquires an object. However, by reading the sentence, one doesn’t know if he simply stumbled upon the rare Star Wars action figure in a local shop or if he searched for it for years and finally found it.
Olivia obtained tickets to the concert.
Jackson obtained a hairdressing license and shortly after opened a salon.
Samara wanted to obtain a signed poster of Harry Styles.
Do you obtain or attain a degree?
So, when you attain a degree, you’re referring to the hours of studying you put into getting an education. But when you obtain a degree, you’re referring to actually acquiring the degree or diploma.
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