attained

[ uh-teynd ]

adjective

1. reached or achieved, often after considerable time and effort:

   Any country with a reactor and a fairly easily attained level of expertise can build an atomic bomb.

2. having reached a specified level of accomplishment; skilled or expert:

   He was an eminent professor of religion and a highly attained mystic.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of attain.

Other Words From

• un·at·tained adjective
• well-at·tained adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of attained¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; attain ( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; attain ( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Some readers expected that the minimum value of H would be reached when the configuration attained a disklike shape because a circle has the smallest perimeter for a given area.

From Quanta Magazine

Renowned for his passing ability, Rubio never attained Curry’s level of impact, but he proved to be an able NBA player while with the Timberwolves from 2011, after he came over from Spain, to 2017.

From Washington Post

An independent research committee looked at the data from the trials for 3 hours and determined that protection against the virus was attained just 28 days after the second dosage.

From Essence.com

For now, there have been real examples of social media platforms restricting or banning political content from across the spectrum, but attaining hard data about whether it’s biased is difficult.

From Popular-Science

With sunshine still in the cards, though, we could see some spots get as warm as the mid-50s, with southern spots having the highest chances of attaining that.

From Washington Post

To Bartholdi, his statue meant a commemoration of Liberty attained.

From The Daily Beast

Remember how Scott Brown attained wattage in 2009 by beating Democrat Martha Coakley in Massachusetts?

From The Daily Beast

When Dyan Cannon and Grant Grant split, she attained a restraining order, so he rented another house a bit further down the road.

From The Daily Beast

It attained its $2 million goal in less than ten hours, the most famous example of fans resurrecting a show in Hollywood history.

From The Daily Beast

Now, at an age she considers her prime, she says has attained her goal.

From The Daily Beast

He who has attained it grows giddy, and the fiercest winds are summoned to blow him from his eminence.

From Project Gutenberg

He had attained to position and wealth and, which successful men sometimes are not, was quite unspoiled.

From Project Gutenberg

In a paroxysm of rage and fear, he gave the final order, and the Well of Cawnpore thereby attained its ghastly immortality.

From Project Gutenberg

Gunn possessed a purple complexion which attained to full vigor of coloring in the nasal region.

From Project Gutenberg

After eighteen years of railway life, at the age of 34, I had attained the coveted position of a general manager.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accomplished
• completed
• executed
• finished
• performed