attained
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
having reached a specified level of accomplishment; skilled or expert.
He was an eminent professor of religion and a highly attained mystic.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of attained
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If we are lucky enough to survive into our 20s, and have attained some degree of adult consciousness, we all will have lived a coming-of-age story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Instead, he explores the wounds inflicted by fame’s piercing orbit, implying that absolution isn’t attained by climbing stardom’s echelons, but by falling just before reaching the top, hitting every last regret on the way down.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
On April 14, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party attained a majority in Parliament thanks to by-elections and defections from the opposition Conservatives.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
“He attained absolute power and lost sight of the goal,” said milk farmer Imre Barna, 32, standing in front of a stall selling “Make Hungary Great Again” T-shirts with Orbán’s picture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
But even then, as he swerved back up onto the porch, Mercedes usually managed to uncork a half-dozen infinitely annoying gravel bits that plinked around his feet before he attained her son’s door.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
