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.
The Beijing native attained a doctorate in earth sciences from the University of Southern California in 2003.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
He served as a military lawyer and attained the rank of Air Force colonel, an experience that informed his interventionist stance in foreign affairs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Drake, who just dropped three albums on a single day for some reason, has plenty of fans compared to Salieri, who never attained Mozart’s notoriety.
From Salon ● May 16, 2026
They attained all their military objectives but were forced to withdraw by President Eisenhower of the United States.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
The classrooms shown by the algorithm to have the best teachers, in which big gains were thought to have been legitimately attained.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
