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

Fellow Englishmen Canter, John Parry and Jordan Smith have also attained membership, while Neergaard-Petersen's strong finish also secured a spot.

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Dutton’s goal isn’t expansion, it’s holding on to his questionably attained acreage and with it, his dominance over all he surveys.

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In the 33 years since it was first announced and the two decades since construction started, the GEM has attained near-mythic status.

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In exchange, she attained high social status and journalistic attention, mainly to make sense of why this child of immigrants would stand by as her spouse demonizes immigration.

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The academic finds it striking that after 64 years of independence, three-quarters of the population have an education level below primary school, while only 3% have attained higher education.

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Related Words

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