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 Word Forms

• unattained adjective
• well-attained 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

Shannon is baffled by her self-denial, but Hannah has attained an understanding of home not as a physical place but as a spiritual bulwark, born out of love and patient respect.

From Los Angeles Times

And according to internal documents attained by The Times, debris crews were regularly confused how to handle contaminated pool water — which researchers have found to contain trace amounts of lead, arsenic and other toxic chemicals.

From Los Angeles Times

In the years since that memorable trip to the RSC, Sir Kenneth has attained theatrical and cinematic heights most actors can only dream of.

From BBC

“A New New Me,” her eighth novel, follows Kinga, a 40-year-old Polish woman who, on the Monday we meet her, becomes a Czech passport holder after having recently attained citizenship.

From Los Angeles Times

The expulsion to Mexico shattered a family that had attained a modicum — perhaps an illusion — of stability in California.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accomplished 
• completed www.thesaurus.com
• executed 
• finished 
• performed www.thesaurus.com